City ready for shopping ‘storm’
WITH Black Friday only one day away, businesses in Kimberley have indicated that they have put in place extra measures to assist with the expected influx of shoppers who will “storm” their stores tomorrow.
The mall management of North Cape Mall said that they are ready to ensure that shoppers have a safe and smooth shopping experience.
“We have got 15 security guards who will be on duty on the day. The security will work according to the hours the stores open. Some stores already open in the early hours of the morning but we will have staff on site to assist and ensure everyone is safe,” said JP Cloete from mall management.
Cloete said that they have had no violent or rowdy incidents in the past and he was hopeful that this year will be no different.
“It was very busy last year but everything went smoothly. There were no violent incidents between customers. This year we are hoping that people will again show the same spirit as last year.”
The assistant store manager of Mr Price Sport at the mall, Jacob Motaung, said that they are ready and have extra hands on deck to assist on the day.
“We will be open from 8am and close at 7pm. On normal operating days we have nine staff members in store but on Friday we will have 13 staff members in store to assist customers. Each department will have an assistant as things tend to get a bit wild with shoppers rushing for the best deals. Store assistants will also assist customers who buy in large bulk to carry their merchandise to their vehicles,” said Motaung.
The public relations officer of Game, Sharon Fay, said their doors will open at midnight already to ensure shoppers get their hands on the best deals.
“The store in Kimberley will open at midnight on November 22. Parking at the mall will be free as per usual and there will be both mall security and Game security in place to ensure the safety of all shoppers. The general merchandiser has planned bumper deals for the group’s network of more than
IT WAS VERY BUSY LAST
YEAR BUT EVERYTHING WENT
SMOOTHLY. THERE WERE NO
VIOLENT INCIDENTS BETWEEN
CUSTOMERS. THIS YEAR WE
ARE HOPING THAT PEOPLE
WILL AGAIN SHOW THE SAME
SPIRIT AS LAST YEAR
180 stores. As an added bonus to customers, Game has reduced all delivery costs to R50 in the build-up to Black Friday and this remains in place until further notice and applies to goods purchased online and in-store. Some of our specials are valid for November 23, 2018 only while other deals will run over a three-day period starting from November 23 until November 25 2018 ,” said Fay.
She added that shoppers who opt to avoid the long queues in store and would rather shop from the comfort of their homes will not miss out on the deals.
“There will be exclusive online deals and separate deals which are only available in-store. I urge shoppers to plan their purchases and get in early to avoid disappointment. Our online platform performed very well during Black Friday last year as a result of our investment in a new SAP Hybris E-Commerce platform,” Fay said.
Parents will also get an opportunity to do some early Christmas shopping for their children at discounted prices on the day. Toys R Us said that they have all systems in place for a fun shopping day.
“We have got about six casual workers that will come and assist on the day. Our doors will open from 8am until 6pm. We are super excited and have got really nice deals for parents who want to shop for bargains. We are hopeful that the shopper flow will go as smoothly as the previous year. Staff members are ready and energised and looking forward to assisting the influx of shoppers,” staff and management indicated.