Tue Feb 09 2010
The line in front of JCPenney in Franklin Square stretched all the way to Pier 1 Imports at 3:59 a.m.
One minute later, the only evidence of a line was the warm, solitary breath that hung in the 35-degree air as everyone firmly – yet politely – filed into the Franklin Square department store.
Jaime Carrier, a 32-year-old state employee and mother of four, arrived 10 minutes before the store opened.
Standing in the men’s clothing section with four or five hangers of clothes in her left hand, Carrier pushed her way through a rack of shirts with her right and gave each one a quick scan.
The sales on Black Friday are too good to pass up, she said.
“I usually save around $150 or $200 on Black Friday,” she said. “I have four kids, so it definitely helps.”
Specials today included several discounts on clothing, 25 percent off on fine jewelry, $29.99 women’s boots and $49.99 diamond earrings.
Carrier chooses to stay close to home during the post-Thanksgiving sales rush so she can shop at her own pace. She avoids bigger cities like Lexington and Louisville.
“It’s always a mad house in those places,” she said.
The only other stop for Carrier was a quick trip to Office Depot.
JCPenney supervisor David Rawlings said sales were strong this morning and ahead of last year.
There weren’t any hot-ticket items this year, he said, but people were getting the most value out of the sales.
“I think people are just making smarter selections with their money and getting the best for the value.”
People did flock to the store’s 2009 snow globe, which featured Mickey Mouse, Rawlings said.
Exact dollar amounts and traffic volume will be added up at the end of the day, but Rawlings said he was pleased with the turnout.
Sears opened its doors at 4 a.m. to a large crowd of shoppers.
Employees started walking the line at 3 a.m., handing out fliers and highlighting Friday’s deals.
“It was very orderly, very organized,” said store manager Jason Mains. “We haven’t had any issues like some places. You hear horror stories, but we haven’t had any.”
Mains said the store would continue to offer weekly deals throughout the Christmas season.
“It’s a great way for customers to come in and save and go a little easy on their pocketbooks,” he said.
Black Friday shoppers who couldn’t find everything on their lists could order items online with free shipping, Mains said. Sears also offered layaway in the store and online.
Tammy Wilson and her daughter, Kamry, browsed the clothing racks, Starbucks cups in hand. They came to the store for a pingpong table, but changed their minds when they arrived.
Wilson searched for deals online last night, and perused advertisements earlier in the week. But she was still on the fence about Black Friday until early this morning.
“We kind of decided at the last minute, because I wasn’t absolutely sure I was going to go this year,” she said. “I just happened to wake up, and I couldn’t go back to sleep.”
The pair arrived at Walmart at 4 a.m. in search of a Nintendo DS for Wilson’s son, but they didn’t realize the gaming system wouldn’t be available until an hour later.
“But it was a good thing we did get there early, because we wouldn’t have gotten one otherwise,” she said.
All the registers were running at Kohl’s, as customers took home jewelry, clothing, bedding and house wares. A child wearing a leopard-print coat over her blue and green pajamas slipped out the door as dawn approached.
Store manager Debra Hill arrived at 2:05 a.m., and there were two people sitting by the front door – they wanted a Dyson vacuum. Others were in search of electronics, Wii games and toys, she said.
“I just let them know that everybody’s going to get in,” she said. “It went really well, it was really smooth.”
One early bird counted 375 people in line when the store opened at 4 a.m., but Sherry Mansfield, of Lawrenceburg, and her sister Judy Thompson, of Frankfort, didn’t arrive until four hours later.
“We don’t get together a whole lot, so we just hang out more than actually shop,” Mansfield said, as the two looked through perfume gift sets. “It’s a tradition.”
They were at Kohl’s to buy a pair of boots that were on sale.
“We don’t want to fight the crowds,” Thompson said.
Young Amber Devine joined the women – she said the crowds were “just like school on a Friday anyway.”
The sun was just beginning to rise as Pamela Ritchey flipped through sewing pattern books at Jo-Ann Fabrics. She was also in search of clothes and a printer Friday.
She drove in from Waddy at 4 a.m. to shop at Walmart with her daughter and her daughter’s friend.
“We stood in line a very long time, but it was a whole lot better than it ever had been,” she said. “Last year, everybody bombarded at the same time, but this year they kept the doors open and let us in.”
Walmart opened at midnight this year, allowing shoppers to remain in the store until the sales started, eliminating the rush that can occur when doors open.
“It was really calm,” Ritchey said. “I just browsed the store.”
Gamestop – in Westridge Shopping Center – opened its doors at 6 a.m. and a manager said sales were “pretty good.”
No games or consoles really stood out, he said.
Sales at the video game stored included $299.99 Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 three-game bundles, $20 off Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum and 50 percent off select Nintendo Wii accessories.
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