LAKEPORT >>Sales nudged up a notch for Lakeport retail post-Thanksgiving and would have likely done better if not for strong competition from online sales.
Mendo Mill & Lumber Co., the city’s locally owned and operated Ace Hardware store also carrying, plumbing, paint, plywood, pet supplies, housewares, hand tools, electrical, lawn and garden showed improvement over last year noted store manager Eric Choate. But in 2023, it required most of the year to surpass the year prior, yet they turned the financial corner earlier this year. “Traffic is pretty steady today,” Choate said Friday. “We have a variety of merchandise with 10 to 15 % off (regular price).
Just west on South Main Street, neighbor, Dollar General launched a list of 24 days of sales. A Toastmaster popcorn maker was marked down to $30, half off regular price, noted manager Katherine Rudolph. “General Dollar has apps you can scan with your phone that change every day,” she said.
Items include a Craig 36-inch tower speaker system, with Bluetooth wireless technology on December 4. There are also 12-ounce Smithfield Bacon packages, two for $6 on Dec. 5. Then there’s Christmas lighting half off at $2.50, on Dec. 6, while holiday candles are marked down at $2.50 from $5 on Dec. 7. “Sales are actually better (this year) with kitchen appliances but everything else is about the same,” she said.
A Toastmaster mixer was marked down from $50 to $35. Also, Christmas lights at half off on Dec. 6. Meanwhile, holiday candles are marked down to $3.00 from $5 on Dec. 7.
Over at Campos Casuals, the clothing and shoe store run by owners Ron and Rhea Beth Campos, there was a 25% off on winter shoes, including Bear Paws wool lined boots for Black Friday but Manger James Campos noted the store extended the sale through the holiday weekend.
“Today we sold lots of sweatshirts because it’s been chilly,” Campos said. “We’ve been getting a lot of requests for Skechers’ step-ins (lace free shoes).” However, they noted that they could not discount this item less than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price since the store is under contract for this item. However, Campos discounted all off-season summer clothes by 40%. “That already helped generate sales,” he added.
Over at Konocti Bicycles they had major sales on Giant brand manufactured bikes, a Dajia, Taiwan company established in 1972, and now recognized as the world’s largest bike designer and manufacturer noted store manager, Steven Beckstead. The Trance X E + plus 2 an electric bike, was on sale for $4,000 down from $7,000 on Black Friday., this was their first Black Friday promotion. The E-bike is powered by a number of different manufacturers such as Bosch, Brose and Shimano but Beckstead favored the Yamaha, which also manufactures for other bands such as Specialized, Trek, Pivot and Transition brands.
“I love the Yamaha,” he said. “The power delivery is almost instantaneous. The E-bike with its electronic assistance (is) a better workout, because the rider is likely to use it more often and for longer trips than a standard pedal bike. And with the Giant bikes, you get more value for your money because they make their own frames.”
Another Giant bicycle sale is for the Trance E + 1 pro, reduced to $3,250 from $4,800. In addition, another good value, is the Khs mountain bicycle now for $760.
The back story to Black Friday stems from the 1950s during the annual Army-Navy football game where police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that followed on the day after Thanksgiving, as crowds of suburban shoppers and tourists mobbed the city prior to the Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Not only were police not able to take the day off, but they had to work long shifts dealing with the additional crowds and traffic. Shoplifters also took advantage of the chaos in stores and made off with merchandise, adding to strenuous law enforcement challenges.
By 1961, “Black Friday” had caught on in Philadelphia, to the point where the city’s merchants and boosters tried unsuccessfully to change it to “Big Friday” in order to remove the negative connotations. The term didn’t spread to much of the country until later. As recently as 1985 it wasn’t in common use nationwide. Then in the late 1980s, retailers found a way to reinvent Black Friday and turn it into something that reflected a positive force. The result was the “red to black” tag of the holiday, and the idea the day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when American stores finally turned a profit.
The Black Friday story stuck, and pretty soon the term’s darker origins in Philadelphia were mostly forgotten. Since then, the one-day sales jackpot has morphed into a four-day event and spawned other ‘retail holidays’ such as Small Business Saturday/Sunday and Cyber Monday.
