Black Friday 2022: Mixed response
We asked 35 retailers - mostly privately owned chains and mini-chains - across SA, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini and Zimbabwe - for a 1-sentence comment on Black Friday. Just 10 responded, 1 whose response is under They Said It, 1 to promise a response later today, 1 to say 'no comment', and another to say he didn't offer it.
"With general sentiment and trading conditions as tough as we have ever seen it, we were happy to see that our brands were well supported and that our campaigns yielded solid results. The proof of any sustainable uptick is however going to be in a good summer season and with a number of structural challenges nationally, most notably load shedding, it is best to be prudent at the moment." - Bernard Mostert, Mr Tekkie, George, W. Cape, SA
"I am over Black Friday, softens sales in the lead up to this weekend and has an impact on December sales. If we are going to keep it, should be ONE DAY ONLY." - Kim Cunniffe, Kingsmead Shoes, Durban, KZN, SA
"Regarding Black Friday, it was OK but not like 2019.' - Sandeep Gandhi, Vision Sports, Gaborone, Botswana
"Queue Black Friday promotion runs from the Thursday to the Sunday, and we achieved an increase of 8% on last year. The sales pattern differed this year as the 25th fell on the Friday, whereas last year it was on the Thursday. Thursday dropped on last year, but Friday and Saturday were well up, with Sunday showing the highest growth." - Steve Miller, Queue Shoes, Cape Town, W. Cape, SA
"Black Friday was very good for Jumbo. I believe we were very well prepared. We have also opened 12 new stores this year and are achieving exciting success.” - Alan Scheckter, Jumbo Clothing, East London, E. Cape, SA
"Overall Durban Central was disappointing. Musgrave Centre, where we retail European garments, traded fairly well." - Sanjay Bhagwandas, Ginger Bhagwandas Exclusive, Durban, KZN, SA
