bigjimslade Posted November 16, 2006 Posted November 16, 2006 From the wires........ http://www.yorkdispatch.com/business/ci_4670370 DAVID KOENIG The Associated PressArticle Last Updated:11/16/2006 11:07:14 AM EST DALLAS -- The heck with that pumpkin pie. Electronics retailer CompUSA is opening its doors on Thanksgiving night to give holiday shoppers a head-start on Black Friday madness. Most of the chain's stores plans to open from 9 p.m. until midnight, then send shoppers home for a quick nap before the doors reopen at 5 a.m. on Friday. "Some customers aren't interested in waking up at the crack of dawn to go shopping at 5 a.m.," said Brian Woods, CompUSA Inc.'s executive vice president of merchandising. "We're giving them more options." Shopping diversion: Woods said he's not worried about overlapping with Thanksgiving celebrations. He figures that by 9 p.m., most people are done eating turkey and would welcome a shopping trip as their entertainment for the evening. Last year, CompUSA opened its doors at midnight, and Woods said the crowds outside averaged 600 to 700, and sales were strong. But after the initial rush, he said, traffic thinned out until about 5 a.m., which seems to be when consumers expect stores to open on Black Friday. It's also when rival Best Buy plans to open its stores, a spokesman said. Woods said local CompUSA managers will decide how to staff stores on Thanksgiving. The privately owned Dallas chain figures 216 of its roughly 230 stores will be open. Some stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, South Carolina and Puerto Rico are covered by local blue laws that forbid them from opening on the holiday. Like other retailers, CompUSA plans to offer door-buster specials, including a notebook computer, a television and a desktop PC all below the chain's normal lowest price. Specials will be advertised in inserts in Wednesday's newspapers. Joy Weaver, who has written a book on etiquette and teaches social-manners courses for corporate clients, was appalled that any store would open on Thanksgiving evening. "The holidays are overcommercialized as it is," Weaver said. "To take us away from our families and away from giving thanks just so they can make another dollar is wrong." The ever-earlier store openings on Black Friday seem like a fact of life. Holiday decorations and gifts have been showing up earlier for several years. Retailers have a strong motive for so-called Christmas Creep. The holidays account for 25 to 40 percent of their annual sales, and many of them believe that they can sell more goods at full price early in the season, leaving fewer items to unload at clearance prices later on. But to open on Thanksgiving night? "It will be old hat in a few years," Weaver said. "We'll all say, 'Remember when the stores used to close for Thanksgiving?'"
bigjimslade Posted November 16, 2006 Author Posted November 16, 2006 Here is the press release that the story was written on. CompUSA Makes Gift Giving Easy with TechToyland and Extensive Network of Technology ExpertsThursday November 16, 8:35 am ETCompUSA Launches TechPro, Ready to Help Consumers this Holiday SeasonCompUSA Stores Open Thanksgiving Evening, Giving Shoppers Jump-Start on Holiday Savings DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Giving a technology gift without the proper accessories is like giving a toy without batteries. This holiday season, CompUSA is helping shoppers make sure their gifts are ready to use immediately after the gift is opened. CompUSA's online and in-store TechToyland is designed to take the accessory guesswork out of technology gift giving, with helpful tips and savings. But the help doesn't stop there. CompUSA is launching its re-branded and enhanced technology services program, CompUSA TechPro. With its force of more than 12,000 experienced and qualified technicians, CompUSA TechPro has a 98 percent customer satisfaction rating. CompUSA TechPro technicians are already in action helping consumers in their homes, at their businesses, online and in CompUSA stores. "We understand that time is precious during the holiday season and we want to provide consumers with all the gift giving tools and services possible so they can spend more time with family and friends," said Ellen Miller, acting chief marketing officer, CompUSA. "This is a wonderful time of year and it only gets better when you add in popular gifts at great prices with top-notch technical help." Thanksgiving Day Shopping In addition to great service and value throughout the season, CompUSA, for the first time in the company's history, is giving consumers the chance to relieve Thanksgiving cabin fever by opening its doors on November 23 from 9 p.m. to midnight in stores across the continental United States including Hawaii and Alaska. Stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, South Carolina and Puerto Rico will have varying hours on Thanksgiving Day, to adhere to local laws. The new Thanksgiving hours give shoppers the ability to get a jump-start on Black Friday shopping and bring home great deals that night. All the stores will re-open at 5:00 a.m. on Black Friday, with additional savings during a special 7-hour sale from 5 a.m. to noon. For consumers that enjoy Black Friday shopping and the great online deals associated with Cyber Monday, CompUSA will offer savings packages on products including notebooks and desktop computer systems, LCD flat-panel TVs and monitors, printers, and portable DVD players. CompUSA TechPro As the national retailer with a qualified force of more than 12,000 experienced technicians, CompUSA provides consumers with holiday technical support. CompUSA's TechPro ProPacks enable consumers to receive technical services to setup their holiday gifts such as networks, desktop systems, digital music players and digital cameras. The setup services start at $99.00. With CompUSA TechPro, consumers can receive: * Immediate Appointment Scheduling: CompUSA enables consumers to conveniently schedule appointments in-store, by phone or online. Appointments are available seven days a week and customers can select the time of their choice and will immediately receive confirmation after making an appointment. * Appointment Guarantees: CompUSA provides "next day in-home installation" if a customer makes an appointment by 3 p.m. local time. * Complete Accessibility: For CompUSA technology services, customers can visit a CompUSA store, call 1-800-CompUSA or go online to www.compusa.com/tech_services. TechToyland This holiday season CompUSA stores across the country are transforming into a TechToyland with holiday-designated sections designed to provide consumers with easy one-stop-shopping and great savings. TechToyland is also available at http://www.compusa.com/techtoyland. * Shopping Convenience: CompUSA will offer eight gift packages that include notebooks, gaming, phones, cameras, MP3 players, desktops, TVs, and printers with a variety of accessories. New gift packages will be featured each week. * Holiday Savings: In addition to convenience, consumers can obtain additional savings with CompUSA's TechToyland special. When a customer buys a product from one of the eight featured categories and three qualifying accessories, they will receive 10 percent off each purchased accessory. CompUSA Online By visiting compusa.com this holiday season, consumers will find helpful tools and surprise savings sure to spark the holiday shopping spirit. * HP's Ultimate Digital Home Gift Pack Giveaway: Hewlett Packard and CompUSA are teaming up to give away an Ultimate Digital Home Gift Pack, valued at $11,000, that includes a plasma TV, notebook, desktop, and digital camera. The winner will also receive free in-home installation from a CompUSA TechPro specialist. The contest runs from Nov. 19 to Dec. 31, 2006. No purchase is necessary and shoppers can visit compusa.com/hp for more details. * 80GB iPod Video Gift Pack Giveaway: Beginning Nov. 23, shoppers who complete an order on compusa.com will be automatically entered for a chance to win a free 80GB iPod Video Gift Pack, valued at $950, that includes $150 iTunes gift card, Shure E3c Earphones, Neuros Technology MPEG-4 Recorder 2 Plus and DLO HomeDock Deluxe. An iPod Gift Pack will be given away daily through Dec. 24. No purchase is necessary. Consumers can visit compusa.com for more details. * Wish List: By creating a CompUSA Wish List on http://www.compusa.com/wishlists, shoppers can let friends and family know what gifts they would like to receive. To make shopping easier, consumers can search for their family and friends' Wish Lists. * Holiday Gift Ideas: On http://www.compusa.com/techtoyland, shoppers can find the latest and greatest in technology and gadgets this holiday season with gift categories for him, her, teens, and kids and for under $25, $50, $100, and over $100. * Twelve Days of Christmas: Beginning Dec. 13, CompUSA is spreading the holiday cheer with special daily savings on select products. Each day, a new product will be revealed online to customers with special in-store savings only available that day. * In-Store Pick-Up: Online shoppers no longer need to wait on shipping or pay shipping charges. CompUSA is offering in-store pick-up, enabling customers to order online and pick it up at the nearest store within 15 minutes of placing an order. About CompUSA CompUSA, Inc., a Dallas-based company, is one of the nation's leading retailers and business resellers of technology products and services. CompUSA currently operates more than 229 locations in more than 90 major metropolitan markets across the United States and Puerto Rico. In addition, CompUSA's Web site offers an assortment of more than 80,000 items. Visit them at www.compusa.com. Contact: CompUSA, Inc., DallasKaren James, 214-320-9595c: 214-454-6280[email protected]
he8765 Posted November 17, 2006 Posted November 17, 2006 It's an interesting tactic on CompUSA's part to open before all of the competition (the night before). Should probably give them some good publicity.
Marcster Posted November 17, 2006 Posted November 17, 2006 In about two years, all of the stores will probably have "Black Thursday". Imagine getting all your shopping done before even sticking the turkey in the oven! http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/Marcster2005/Smileypad/Holidays/turkey2.gif
Mike Posted November 18, 2006 Posted November 18, 2006 I like the fact that it is on Friday normally. Along with Turkey, hanging out with family, and watching football...my Thursdays are booked.
raymacfla Posted November 19, 2006 Posted November 19, 2006 If not for the dual whammy of the rebate laden product, crossed with the promise of $200 off (not really, you must wait), it would have been a hit out of the park. Unfortunately, they appear to be the biggest loser this year since the cash outlay is way too high, in comparison to Best Buy. What a gosh awful shame....shame on you CompuCrap.
RossMAN Posted November 20, 2006 Posted November 20, 2006 That's great news, CompUSA will definitely be our first BF stop.
AndreaInNC Posted November 20, 2006 Posted November 20, 2006 So it's okay for movie theatres to be open on turkey day night .. but not a store? What's the difference?
klabrecque Posted November 20, 2006 Posted November 20, 2006 It's abysmal that anything is open on thanksgiving. People should be home with their families.
youm0nt Posted November 20, 2006 Posted November 20, 2006 The privately owned Dallas chain figures 216 of its roughly 230 stores will be open. Some stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, South Carolina and Puerto Rico are covered by local blue laws that forbid them from opening on the holiday. i wonder if the local store is covered by this law?
ksmitt76 Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 Well, it is really ironic how they are opening this year earlier than last. I see that is a big plus. However, their deals suck this year compared to last so whatever gain was made by opening earlier was lost by bad deals.
caabeel Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 It's abysmal that anything is open on thanksgiving. People should be home with their families.Yeah, because that's the ONLY day of the year family can spend time together.
eMelanie Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 I don't know about everywhere else, but here in Birmingham Alabama, this will be the 3rd year that CompUSA will have a midnight madness sale on Thanksgiving Day. So far, no other stores in the area are trying to "keep up". As a matter of fact, a large mall in the area- The Riverchase Galleria has chosen this year to end it's "Rockin' Shopin' Eve" For the past several years the mall would open at 11pm Thanksgiving night (even though most of the stores didn't open until 5AM) This year the mall will open at 5am with the stores. So I think that the sanctity of Thanksgiving is safe.
Tempus Posted November 23, 2006 Posted November 23, 2006 Ok I just got a email from CompUSA with the Thrusday Night Unadvertised Specials. 11/23 9PM-Midnight However, I don't have enough posts to post a link. It says PM an Admin with the link. I tried that and I don't have enough posts to PM Here lets try this. Put h t t p etc in front of this www .compusa. com/specials/sales/sale11_23_06/bonusdeals.asp It really doesn't want me to post the link - eh. Free XBoX 360Core with purchase of one of the high end tvs Free $15 iTunes Card with Purchase of One of These 4GB iPod Nanos - $199.99 Each • Pink (sku# 342042) • Blue (sku# 342039) • Silver (sku# 342040) • Green (sku# 342041) • White (sku# 334247) • Black (sku# 334246) $399.99 Save $100 Garmin International StreetPilot c330 GPS sku# 329163 Was: $499.99 $399.99 Save $100 Magellan RoadMate 3000T North America GPS sku# 338784 Was: $499.99 $299.99 Save $100 Magellan RoadMate 2000 GPS sku# 342305 Was: $399.99 $1999.99 Save $1000 Sony Grand WEGA KDS-60A2000 60-inch SXRD Rear Projection HDTV sku# 339668 Was: $2999.99 $1799.99 Save $800 Mitsubishi WD-57731 57-inch 1080p DLP Projection HDTV sku# 339830 Was: $2599.99 $9.99 Save $10 Ice Age: The Meltdown by 20th Century Fox sku# 341910 Was: $19.99
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