Crisis? What Crisis?
Black Friday turns into super shopping day in Gallup Shopper Michelle Jo looks at the racks of toys at Kay-Bee Toy & Hobby in the Rio West Mall Friday, November 28. — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Cable Hoover

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — Although not all Gallup retailers participate in the Black Friday shopping mania, a number of local retailers are reporting good holiday sales — or at least as good as last year’s holiday season.

J.C. Penney opened its doors on Friday in the pre-dawn darkness of 4 a.m. Store supervisor Melanie Laselute said the holiday sale season has been about average thus far, but she expects sales to start increasing with the advent of Black Friday. According to Laselute, Black Friday kicks off the holiday season and gets people excited about holiday shopping.

K-B Toys, part of the early morning Black Friday shopping frenzy, opened its doors at 6 a.m. Manager Angie Joe said the morning sales were good although business dropped off in the afternoon. Describing this year’s holiday sales as OK thus far, Joe said sales haven’t been quite as good as last year, which she described as a very good sales year.

“We had a crowd waiting,” said Big Lots manager Marilyn Russell of her store’s 6 a.m. opening. The store’s supply of Elmo dolls and electronics went fast, she said, along with most of its advertised sales items. Russell, who said she was expecting another crowd for Saturday’s sales, thinks this year’s holiday sales season will end up being better than last year’s.

The staff of Waldenbooks also had an early morning crowd waiting for them, said manager Rose Adakai. “We are definitely going to meet our goal for Black Friday,” said Adakai, who said business was steady all Friday morning. The book store was offering a number of specials, she said, and many customers were also buying new books to donate to the Toys for Tots book drive.

Adakai said she thinks Waldenbooks will definitely meet last year’s sales figures, and she believes many area residents are staying in Gallup to shop rather than traveling out of town for shopping trips. “It’s a great help to retail businesses,” she said of the trend to shop locally. “It really does help.”

Armando Rohan, manager of f.y.e. in Rio West Mall, said his store also had a good sales day on Friday. Contacted in the afternoon, Rohan said the store’s Black Friday sales had already almost overtaken the sales total for last year’s Black Friday, and he said he believed the store’s holiday sales this year were a little a head of last year’s at this time.

“We’re running about even from last year,” said Walgreens manager Tim Rysanek, comparing this year’s Black Friday to last year’s. However, Rysanek said, Black Friday is not the busiest day of the year for Walgreens. Christmas Eve and the weekends in December are traditionally bigger business days, he explained. But in terms of overall holiday sales, Rysanek said the Gallup Walgreens is up in sales over last year at this time.

Ellis Tanner said he was expecting to see slower sales this year because of the economy but was pleasantly surprised to see Friday’s business about the same as last year’s Black Friday. Ellis Tanner Trading Company was doing well selling Christmas gift items like Pendelton blankets and shawls, jewelry, and arts and crafts, he explained. According to Tanner, his business has had a holiday sales promotion for the last seven or eight years that “keeps getting bigger” each year.

This year’s holiday sales season looks pretty good so far, Tanner said, compared to previous years. “I’m knocking on wood as I say that,” he joked.

Shush Yaz Trading Company also enjoyed a good business day, said manager Bill Malone, who said the store offered a number of specials on clothing, jewelry, and arts and crafts. Malone said he thought this year’s holiday sales were ahead of last year’s. “It started out with a bang,” he said, “and I hope it continues.”