Black Friday brings mixed feelings for local business owners

Black Friday may get a lot of hype as the biggest shopping day of the year, but Burke County business owners and managers have mixed feelings about the door-buster deals and discounts that draw local consumers out of town.

Some local stores are offering Black Friday sales and extended store hours to lure in local customers, while other store owners are choosing to operate as usual because they say local consumers flock to big box stores.

Cornerstone Antiques and Collectibles, 100 Main St. West, Valdese, is among the stores opening up at 6 a.m. Friday and offering sales for discount shoppers through Sunday. Owner Deborah Ferris said this is the first year she's offering Black Friday sales. Big furniture items such as china hutches and cabinets will be marked down $150. Smaller merchandise will have a 10 percent discount.

Ferris also runs Americana Coffee Shop and Antiques; it will offer the same discounts and a coffee special.

"This year has been an extremely wonderful year for us," Ferris said. "We've been up every month compared to last year. My hopes are high that we will do a good business on Friday."

She's not alone. Store managers at Morganton Ace Hardware, 526 W. Fleming Drive, and Queen City Audio Video Appliances, 307 Sanford Drive, also hope consumers spend their dollars in Burke County.

Keith Saunders, district manager of Queen City, said although Black Friday is a busy day for the store, there are still some residents leaving the county to seek deals that are available right here in Morganton.

Saunders said Queen City offers specials to stay competitive. This Black Friday, televisions are priced starting at $148, there's a Blu-ray player for $98 and buyers will find other door-buster deals. The store opens at 8 a.m.

"We can be as competitive as the next guy," Saunders said. "It's a big retail day for us."

Scott Campbell, manager of Morganton Ace Hardware, said his store is offering Black Friday-only discounts on annual best sellers like pet beds and drills, and that's on top of a 20 percent discount for Christmas decorations. The store will open at 7 a.m., an hour before normal, for the early birds.

Campbell said because it's a locally owned store, Morganton Hardware employees are able to offer improved service.

"The service we provide here is by far that of anything they'll get at a big box store," Campbell said.

The hardware store usually sees a Black Friday crowd in "turbo shopping mode," Campbell said. He expects the same this year and prepared by scheduling more employees and increasing inventories.

But the optimism doesn't extend to all businesses.

Chris Jordan, owner of Table Rock Cycles at 101 N. Sterling St. said Black Friday leaves downtown Morganton a ghost town.

Table Rock Cycles is offering $100 off bicycles as part of a holiday sale, but Jordan said there aren't any special Black Friday discounts.

Even when there has been a crowd on the day after Thanksgiving, the prospects for sales aren't much better, Jordan said. He likened the shopping holiday to the Historic Morganton Festival — there is a crowd, but no one is spending money.

Ronnie Pruitt, owner of Grace Jewelry, 134 Main St. East, Valdese, said his business isn't offering Black Friday-specific discounts because it doesn't bring in a large crowd.

"It's a real quiet day for us because everybody is at the Black Friday sales elsewhere," Pruitt said.

He has operated Grace Jewelry for nine years and, for a few years, he offered Black Friday sales.

"There was just really nothing we could do to draw the people away from Walmart and the malls," Pruitt said.

And sales don't improve by the end of the day, he noted.

"By the time they get done, they are so tired and end up going home," he explained.

Like Jordan, Pruitt will offer a holiday sale in lieu of a Black Friday sale. All merchandise is 30 percent off. He also is offering a lay away plan.

Pruitt said sales are picking up for the holiday season, and he expects to see larger crowds as Christmas approaches.