Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Wednesday announced plans for its Black Friday sales, beginning at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving Day with “gifts for the entire family.”
The Bentonville-based retailer’s event will feature games including an Xbox 360 gaming bundle for $149, a Wii console for $89, fashion dolls including Barbie, Bratz and Disney Princess for $5 each and “hundreds” of DVD and Blu-ray movies ranging from $1.96 to $9.96.
Brand-name electronics follow at 10 p.m. with a 60-inch Vizio LED Smart TV for $688, an HP 15.6-inch laptop computer for $279 and a Nook Color 8GB tablet computer for $279.
Next up at 5 a.m. are a Sharp 70-inch HDTV for $1,798, a Stanley six-drawer rolling tool cabinet with 85-piece Mechanic tool set for $99 and a Better Homes and Garden Deluxe Recliner for $199.
“I couldn’t be more excited about our Black Friday plans. We bought deep, very deep,” Duncan Mac Naughton, executive vice presidentand chief merchandising and marketing officer for Wal-Mart U.S., said on a conference call with reporters.
“Our customers are going to have a chance to shop when they want to shop,” he said.
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the unofficial launch of the Christmas shopping season and, historically, the time of year when many retailers turn profitable, or “in the black.”
Unlike many retailers, most of Wal-Mart’s stores are open 24 hours a day, seven days aweek, so long lines outside its stores are not likely. In the past, Wal-Mart has covered special Black Friday merchandise until the scheduled times for each category.
The company said that, starting Nov. 19, local store maps for featured merchandise will be available to view and print at walmart.com and from the company’s local Facebook pages.
“It really does help balance the flow of people,” Mac Naughton said.
David Tovar, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said the company has worked with law enforcement agencies to establish safety plans for largecrowds.
In 2008, a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death on Black Friday when shoppers in Long Island rushed a Wal-Mart store as the employee and a co-worker attempted to unlock the doors at 5 a.m.
Tovar said tickets will be handed out for certain merchandise that is expected to be in high demand.
If a store has 50 units of an item that is expected to sell out quickly, it will limit the number of tickets at 50, he said.
Wal-Mart’s stock closed Wednesday at $73.11, down 65 cents or 0.9 percent. Thestock has traded between $56.26 and $77.60 in the past year.
Business, Pages 23 on 11/08/2012