Tehachapi News

Seeing green: Tehachapi retailers cash in on Black Friday

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For some, the tradition of consuming mass quantities of turkey and all the trimmings only leads to a temporary couch-coma, followed by short bursts of light activity such as remote jockeying or channel surfing. But for millions of bargain-minded American consumers —   those who live and shop by the creed of “no deal unless it’s a deal” — the seasonal retail rush known as “Black Friday” is the call to calculated and swift action that officially opens the season of giving. Also known as the season of buying.

In spite of, or perhaps because of the economic crisis and resulting credit crunch, Tehachapi retailers saw Black Friday “go green” — as in the color of cash. As early as 4:30 a.m., a time that might be considered God-thirty for less motivated shoppers, locals on both sides of the register were wide-awake and ready to seal the day’s many “deals.”

“It’s so great to see happy faces at 4:30 a.m.,” said Toni Jackson, who owns Tehachapi’s Sears outlet store with her husband Dan. “People are definitely shopping local. They don’t want to go down the hill.”

Greeted by nearly a dozen eager customers, the Jacksons continued the annual tradition of serving cookies and hot cider to their early bird customers, along with the super deals advertised both by print media — and word of mouth.

“We came in and looked at washers and dryers about a month ago,” said Linda Oliver and her husband, Steve, of Bear Valley Springs. “Toni told us to wait until after Thanksgiving to get the best price.”

“It’s not like we’re dying to get home and do laundry,” said Steve about the January delivery date and installation of this major purchase. “This sale was just too good to pass up.”

Tehachapi resident Kristie BretHarte also benefitted from the same hometown customer service. She had shopped around for about a month before buying her new washer and dryer locally, at significant Black Friday savings.

“I talked to Troy [local Sears sales staff] at length and I asked a lot of questions. He was very patient. This is a wonderful store.”

“Thanks mom,” joked store owner  Dan Jackson in response to the generous praise that echoed down the growing line of happily waiting customers.

An estimated 20-25 shoppers waited for “Big Box” retailer Home Depot to open as usual, at 6 a.m.

Store Manager Jordan Richards said he saw purchases that shifted the spending trend away from big ticket items like appliances and electronics, to higher volume purchases of hand tools and smaller gift items that were advertised at big discounts.
The general consensus among local retailers was that “advertising really works.”
“Most of them already had ads in their hands and were picking out specific things. There is a bunch of stuff in our [Black Friday] ad for $5 to $10,” Richards said those items were “flying out of the store.”

A Christmas tree advertised at half off and a 4-in-one drill set were top sellers. According to Richards,  Tehachapi’s Home Depot employs between 75-100 locals, with spring being the high season, not necessarily the holidays.

Size doesn’t matter:
Customers cite importance of keeping business dollars local

Smaller retailers with big name recognition, like Tehachapi’s privately owned Radio Shack, was also bustling with activity and big ticket sales. Owner Ted Kitzmiller’s customers said they shopped the ads, but they were also vocal about the need to keep tax dollars local.

“We appreciate that this is a local business run by local folks like Ted and Guy [Martin - salesman]. That’s why I was so glad that Walmart decided to purchase land inside the city and not the county area. I applaud the city for keeping, and trying to attract more tax dollars inside the city,” said Dal Calais.

Calais and his wife Ann bought their very first home computer (A Gateway model) from salesman Guy Martin.

“It was on sale but I still would have gone with it even if it wasn’t , because of the information and service Guy gave us.”

Calais said he’s leery of buying out of the area when it comes to items that may require service or installation, as he’s had friends and family that have been lured in by super sales then left high and dry when it comes to customer service.

At 6 a.m., the sales and service-oriented staff at Radio Shack was beefed up for Black Friday, as ten or so eager customers came through the doors with ads in hand.
Byars likes to call it “Hot Friday.”

“Once we see that ad in their hand, we know we’ve got a good sale. One lady came in and just bought everything,” said Byars of one early morning shopper’s $1,300 purchase.

The local Kmart store also saw a  visible and steady flow of customers throughout the morning although local managers declined to comment as company policy now directs media inquiries to corporate headquarters .

One California City family chose to shop Tehachapi instead of Lancaster or Palmdale, “because it’s cleaner and there’s not as many people.”

The Gregorys managed to complete most of their holiday shopping with purchases made specifically based on Black Friday specials.

“We’re done with the kids, but we  still have a few adults to buy for,” said Cassie Gregory. “This is very unusual. We’re usually very last minute shoppers.”

Citing holiday budget concerns among their top reasons for shopping early, Cassie, her husband Shane and their three children, ages 2-6-years-old were able to “get everything we wanted.” The Gregorys said the shelves were well-stocked and customers continued to come and go during their shopping experience. The Gregorys filled two wagons full of happy kids and gift items, including video games, movies and some high-end toy purchases Santa will be proud to deliver.

Also doing some local shopping, including a new TV was local businessman Chanderdeep Singh, owner of the Shell gas station on Mill Street.

“Yes, we are very happy to keep people shopping local,” said Singh, who coincidentally offered regular gas at $1.99 on Black Friday. Singh believed that keeping gas prices low locally is a key factor to keeping shoppers dollars working for them here, in Tehachapi.

Although it’s unlikely that gas prices are directly influenced by Black Friday, prices in Tehachapi varied:
$2.19 - Summit Chevron
$1.95 - Howard’s Mini Mart
$2.07 - Shell/Minute Stop Dairy
$1.91- Gas & Go
$1.93 - Circle K
$1.99 - Stop & Save

Black Friday benefits flow downtown
In contrast, downtown retailers who don’t usually advertise Black Friday specials saw a slightly lighter but still spendy crowd flow in and out from mid-morning through the afternoon. Many having exhausted the deals at the local chain stores sales but still eager to shop for treasures.

“People tend to come in here after they’re done shopping at Kmart,” said Trains Etc. owner Ed Gordon.

Ed’s wife, Linda Gordon said that midway through the day, sales were up slightly from last year. “We had busy morning.”

Gordon often acts as an unofficial greeter and visitor center, providing information and hospitality to the thousands of tourists who come to the area to see the world-famous Tehachapi Loop each year. The Gordons have seen a steady influx of dollar-friendly European visitors throughout the year, as well as an increase of customers coming in from Bakersfield, Lancaster and Rosamond. The uniquely targeted hobby store carries all model train sizes and a large inventory of other hobby and gift items. Although kids of all ages and sizes enjoy seeing the model trains run, Gordon said most of this season’s sales have been big ticket gifts mostly for the big boys.

Why ‘Black Friday’
The name Black Friday was coined by the retail industry because the heavily advertised special discounts and extended business hours pose an end-of-the-year opportunity for retailers to go from operating in the red (at a loss), to being in the black (turning a profit).

Traditionally, Black Friday has held the number two position behind the Saturday before Christmas for the highest sales volumes. Many of our readers may be reading this on Cyber Monday, a term coined  in recent years as the popularity and availability of online shopping has grown in revenue generating popularity. Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday, which unofficially marks the beginning of the Christmas online shopping season.