As soon as the tryptophan wears off and the football is over, many people start preparing for their Black Friday shopping.<\/p>\n
For businesses around town, the preparation for holiday shopping season starts long before then. Around Juneau on Wednesday, store owners and employees were decorating and stocking their shelves in advance of the biggest shopping day of the year.<\/p>\n
In Juneau, Black Friday is a bit of a perfect combination, a couple business owners said Wednesday. While it’s still a big day for business, it’s not quite the madhouse that it is in some other communities. You’re unlikely to see a viral video of Juneau customers knocking each other down to get a deal.<\/p>\n
Anthoney Gurule, the store manager at Fred Meyer, has worked in retail for 20 years in Southern California and Anchorage and said his favorite place to do Black Friday is in Juneau.<\/p>\n
“The community makes it an event that’s more exciting than terrifying,” Gurule said. “It’s fun. It’s not something to be dreaded.”<\/p>\n
Gurule, who has been in Juneau for a little over a year, said there’s a good energy at Fred Meyer on Black Friday. It isn’t a competition or a mad rush, but just a dedicated group of shoppers looking for a deal, he said.<\/p>\n
The store opens at 5 a.m., and Gurule said he usually gets to work at about 4 a.m. On Black Friday last year, he found a line already extending from the middle entrance of the store to the pharmacy. Fred Meyer employees hand out coffee to people in line, he said, and it’s a relaxed, happy group of people.<\/p>\n
There’s one more reason to look forward to it this time around, Gurule said.<\/p>\n
“I’m excited this year,” Gurule said. “It’s not as cold as last year.”<\/p>\n
The action isn’t quite as exciting at Costco, General Manager Aaron Lahnum said. The store is opening an hour early, at 9 a.m., but that’s about the only major change. Lahnum said Juneau’s Costco will have the same sales advertised nationally. Items on sale include refrigerators, laptops, tablets, televisions and vacuum cleaners. Many sales start online on Thanksgiving, and people can go to www.costco.com\/<\/a> to find more.<\/p>\n