Black Friday frenzy and ‘scentsible’ gifts
Walkabout: PI
Happenings in the Star City
By Paula Brewer
It happened one Friday
It started Thanksgiving night: A few cars made their way into the Walmart parking lot. Some people wandered toward the doors; others waited. By shortly after 11 p.m., the sidewalk space was shrinking and the trickle of cars had become a river.
By 11:30, the parking lot was nearly full, spilling over into the ACAP and Tim Hortons yards. At 11:45, the sidewalk was invisible as lines of expectant shoppers stretched way out beyond both sides of the building. No parking was to be had. Then promptly at midnight, the sea of people rolled in through the just-opened doors.
Meanwhile, the Aroostook Centre Mall had its own influx of shoppers filling the JCPenney and Kmart parking lots.
Anyone out and about in the wee hours of Black Friday morning saw these three retailers open, along with considerable traffic at Tim Hortons and the nearby Circle K store.
Though estimating the number of shoppers was difficult with so many squeezed in line, Walmart store manager John Billings guessed about a thousand were on hand when the doors first opened.
“The lines were long enough that it took 10 minutes for them all to come in through both doors,” he said Monday.
“I would say the night was a very successful night, with a very pleasant crowd that seemed to be really pleased with our offerings that night,” he added. “They seemed very happy with the way we had things organized.”
Billings said electronics items were probably the number-one draw.
At JCPenney, store manager Nancy Viel reported steady traffic all night. “It was steady from midnight through,” she said Monday. “There was a bit of a lull between 4 and 6, but then steady lines right up until 9 o’clock Black Friday night.
“As a matter of fact, we were successful not only Black Friday, but throughout the weekend,” she added. “I’m very, very pleased. The whole atmosphere was wonderful. We were well-stocked and ready for the customers.”
Along with clothing, jewelry was popular, Viel noted.
In advertised drawings, the store had several $100 winners and one $500 winner that night as well.
Local Kmart officials said comments on their sales were only available from the corporate level.
Food lovers rejoice?
This time of year, advertisements abound for all kinds of gifts, for all kinds of folks on your list. Some of them are, well, unique. An email received the other day takes the cake — or maybe brings home the bacon — on that.
Apparently, J&D’s Foods of Seattle, Wash., makers of Bacon Salt, have actually launched bacon-scented underwear. “Yes, this is real,” their email announced. “Featuring state-of-the-art moisture-wicking, scent-emission technology stolen from NASA, we’ve embedded the smell of everyone’s favorite smell” into fabric.
The manufacturers claim the scent “will last through multiple wash cycles and wearings.”
The garments come with warnings, however, not to wear them in the woods “where bears are known to roam” or to fall asleep in them “if you have a large dog with razor-sharp teeth.”
Now, there is one Maine business who can one-up this. Cool As a Moose, with four stores in Maine and even two in Canada, offers a sizzling homage to the state in this bumper sticker: “Maine — it’s better than bacon.”
