UPDATE: Black Friday takes Ballito by storm

Last week saw Black Friday madness descend on the Dolphin Coast, with eager shoppers waiting from the early hours of the morning to be the first in store.

Game in the Junction definitely took the cake as far as numbers go, with hundreds of people queuing all the way out of the mall and into the underground parking lot.

This year police and security were brought in to keep the crowds calm and prevent a repeat of last year when shoppers broke down the gates into Game.

Black Friday was originally an American retail promotion that takes place on the last Friday of November after their Thanksgiving holiday.

According to The South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC), the promotion started here in 2015, but 2016 saw growing crowds in shopping centres across the country as retailers increased their offering or took part in the promotion for the first time.

Hirsch’s Group CEO Allan Hirsch said that Black Friday trading, both online and in all the Hirsch stores, far exceeded expectations.

“People are investing in themselves and in their homes, and this is so encouraging as it shows confidence in the business community in South Africa,” he said.

At Toyzone, manager Ravin Chattergoon said they had achieved their target and were very pleased with the turnout.

“Even after the burglary on Thursday evening that left us without any Playstations, we still saw awesome support from the community.”

Hi-Q saw a bumper day of note, working at full capacity from Thursday through to Saturday.

Owner Henri Munnik told the Courier it was a phenomenal day and they were exceptionally busy. Ballito Lifestylecentre marketing manager Tessa Woodley said they too had a busy Friday and that all their stores were more than pleased with the trading that took place.

Black Friday also saw plenty of people stocking up for the weekend at Manor Liquors, according to manager Marlene Pillay.

“We were crazy busy with sales all through the day and up ‘til closing time,” she said.

The biggest crowds were in the Ballito Junction Regional Mall. Spokesperson Kathryn Payton said their tenants were smiling from ear to ear.

“From Friday to Sunday the mall saw 151 000 thousand visitors, with 68 000 people on Friday alone,” said Payton.

She said on Saturday they had between eight and ten thousand people more than on a normal month-end Saturday.

“We were very thrilled with Black Friday and we are grateful it all went off without a hitch.”

https://www.facebook.com/northcoastcourier/videos/1722231581129515/

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