Walmart not releasing Black Friday sales figures

[HeeBGBz]

I guess we won't be able to tell how the boycott will hurt them.

This was on CNN just now.

[Phentex]

1. Oh boo hoo.

screw em!

[RPM]

2. that bad?

are they afraid the numbers will be that bad?

[jmowreader]

3. For Wal-Mart, Black Friday's slightly irrelevant

Black Friday meant a lot in the days before 24-hour shopping and Christmas displays in September. Many of us are old enough to remember when retailers had NO Christmas merchandise on the floor the day before Thanksgiving. They'd close on Thursday and set the store for the Christmas season. Friday was the big official kickoff to the Christmas selling season.

In Fayetteville, Wal-Mart did their Christmas set in October. Lowe's set was up in September, mine was in October...people have been Christmas shopping for a month.

There's one other difference between then and now that a lot of people really don't talk about. In the Good Old Days, many retailers got one shipment of Christmas seasonal. It came, we set it, you bought it and when it was gone, it was gone. (This is another reason why Black Friday was such a big deal--it was the last day you knew everything was going to be in stock.) Wal-Mart has a network of distribution centers; if a Wal-Mart runs low on smiley-face Christmas ornaments or Billy Bass, one EDI request has a skid of them on the loading dock the next morning.

Yes, every Wal-Mart in America is going to be packed on Friday. Every Wal-Mart in America is packed on payday Fridays, and they don't report that either.

[New Democrat]

4. What is Black Friday?

I never heard of it. :shrug:

[newyawker99]

6. Hi New Democrat!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Massacure]

7. The day after thanksgiving

[jmowreader]

9. It's a retailer's term for the day after Thanksgiving

This is the official first day of the Christmas shopping season, and traditionally retailers are besieged by turkey-fueled masses out to see the festive holiday decorations that were put up on Thanksgiving Day (back when retailing was a prestige career--it really used to be--the store managers would cater Thanksgiving dinners for employees and their families), get some mulled cider, take advantage of the huge Day After Thanksgiving sales...

of course, the entire mall has been set for Christmas for a month and a half now, so the only real difference between Christmas shopping today and Christmas shopping on Black Friday is that you'll get to hear Christmas songs.

And we who work in the stores will have to hear Christmas songs...when the 25th of December rolls around, half of us have lost the Christmas spirit and 25 percent of the remainder will probably attempt to beat the shit out of anyone walking down the street singing Feliz Navidad or I'll Be Home For Christmas.

[jdots]

5. i would rather be naked in a cave than go to Wall-Mart

Our christmas present shoud be a good job for every wall mart employee,with benifits and fair pay,where you could get ahead no matter what race creed or color you were.This won't happen at a super store.

[graywarrior]

8. I sprinkle on flea powder if I get stuck driving near a Walmart

Hi New Democrat!!!!