Trail Times Friday, November 29, 2013
HOLIDAY SHOPPING BLACK FRIDAY
FESTIVE FRENZY
Retailers try to keep customers closer to home with Cdn deals BY LINDA NGUYEN
THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO - Black Friday looks to be bigger in Canada this year as more retailers try to keep consumers closer to home on the most important shopping day of the year in the United States. One of the country’s largest shopping mall operators, Cadillac Fairview, has responded to retailer requests by opening 21 properties early on Friday so it can lure customers who might be tempted to cross the border in search of deep discounts on the day after U.S. Thanksgiving. “It’s a fun way for us to kick off the holiday shopping season,” marketing director Wendy Greenwood said of the company’s decision to open properties early for the second year in a row. “Consumers can shop locally and still get great deals without having to go south of the border.” She said consumers can expect to see door crashers and dis-
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counts of up to 50 per cent at its stores. Last year, when the company tested the early hours for the first time, it resulted in a 22 per cent spike in traffic. This year, Cadillac Fairview’s landmark mall, Toronto’s Eaton Centre, will open at 6 a.m. on Nov. 29, while other properties across the country will welcome customers through the doors at either 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. In the U.S., Black Friday marks the start of the crucial holiday shopping season - an opportunity for retailers to push merchandise out the door and begin to turn a profit, or head into the black. Although there likely won’t be the same number of overnight lineups or customers stampeding into stores for midnight madness deals in Canada as in the U.S., the popularity of Black Friday is growing as retailers continue to feel the squeeze on their bottom line from American competitors. Retailers like Amazon.ca and Sears
Canada have responded with deals that include sales of up to 70 per cent off on everything from television sets, cameras and clothing to kitchen appliances. And a recent poll released by the Bank of Montreal found that Canadian shoppers are hungry to shop on Black Friday. Forty-seven per cent of Canadians it surveyed planned on shopping this year - up from 41 per cent last year - with each shopper expecting to spend an average of $292. Another poll from UPS Canada also found that the number of Canadians who plan on crossing the border for Black Friday has also increased, up from six per cent in 2011 to 14 per cent this year. “It’s a cultural leakage from one side to the other,” said Kelly Askew, managing director of retail management consulting for Accenture Canada. “If Canadian retailers ignore it, it will be to their detriment if they don’t stop con-
sumers from going across the border.” The nostalgia associated with Black Friday in the U.S. does not exist in Canada as consumers here are more used to seeing big discounts on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. Yet Askew said it’s vital for Canadian retailers to attract customers on Black Friday, especially when the physical border between the two countries has blurred due to online commerce and with more U.S. companies like Nordstrom and Target setting up shop in Canada. “It is definitely a manufactured date. The reason why it’s contagious, why we’re seeing Black Friday deals in the U.K. as well, is because of e-commerce and digital,” he said. “When a consumer goes into a search engine, they’re getting results from both sides of the border. They’re seeing Black Friday sales on the U.S. side and want the same sales here.”
ART HARRISON PHOTO
Saturday’s Mistletoe Market was bustling with shoppers, eager to find unique gifts for the holiday season. The Trail Indoor Market is nearing an end with just a few more held inside the Cominco gym, including today’s from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Gold Medallists, from left, front row: Gerald Parker, Paul Bunn, Len Bruce, Brian McLellan, Rob McLeod, Doug Jones, Richard Proulx, Tom Plamondon, Garry Rieberger, Harold L’Ecluse. Back row: Brent Fraser, Terry Opsahl, Randy DeBiasio, Tony Yuzik, Hugh Miller, Larry Peat, Bryan DeFerro, David Baerg, Ken Jenner, Rob Penner. Not pictured: Danny Bursaw, Doug McLaren, Gary Cameron, Ralph Geick, Judy Rourke, Terry Selzler, Gord McAlpine.
Celebrating Teck Trail Operations’ 40-year Medallists Trail Operations is pleased to pay tribute to twenty-seven employees who are celebrating a milestone achievement of 40 years of employment with the company. We thank Larry Peat, Doug McLaren, Tony Yuzik, Paul Bunn, David Baerg, Gord McAlpine, Terry Opsahl, Doug Jones, Tom Plamondon, Gary Cameron, Judy Rourke, Rob Penner, Danny Bursaw, Rob McLeod, Ralph Geick, Gerald Parker, Randy DeBiasio, Garry Rieberger, Richard Proulx, Bryan DeFerro, Len Bruce, Harold L’Ecluse, Hugh Miller, Brent Fraser, Ken Jenner, Terry Selzler, and Brian McLellan for their long-term commitment to our company. These employees were joined by family, friends and coworkers at a gala on November 7, 2013, where they were recognized and presented with a 40-year gold medallion, a medallist’s jacket, and a Teck gift. Every 40-year employee at Teck is presented with a gold medallion, in recognition of their long-term service, a tradition that dates back over half a century. To date, 1,521 individuals have achieved 40 years of service. The longest service employee was William “Mystery” DiPasquali, who holds the record of 52 years of service to the company, achieved in 1967.
25th Anniversary
Snowflake Gala 35,000 was raised to
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