Nov. 28, 2008 — Roadways leading to the East End of St. Thomas were clogged for hours Friday morning, as hundreds of residents flocked to Kmart and Tutu Park Mall to take advantage of the after Thanksgiving sales that ran from about 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Kmart's Black Friday sale was advertised in various media outlets for the past week, with several items reduced in price by as much as $100. The first few shoppers were even given $5 gift cards that could be put toward their purchases. By 10:55 a.m., most of what was discounted in the store — from furniture to Christmas trees — was gone.
"This is my first year coming out, just trying to do a little shopping," said St. Thomas resident Aliza Tyson, whose cart was filled to the brim with a variety of items. "I've found some really good prices, and was able to do a little more browsing and shopping before Christmas."
Most of the store's clerks said that the day-after-Thanksgiving rush was normal, and expected the crowds to keep bursting through the door until late afternoon.
While most of Four Winds Plaza was empty, the section in front of Cash and Carry was also jam-packed with cars, as residents browsed through bins set up in front of the store, with everything from Persian rugs to pillows on sale.
Tutu Park Mall also boasted lower than usual prices, with stores such as Champs Sports filled from one end to the other with shoppers rifling through displays of clothing marked down from $19.99 to $4.99. Three stores — Tom and Jerry's Cell Phones, Kid's Alley and #1 Beauty Supply — also distributed fliers advertising a Black Friday sale, with 25 percent off on all merchandise. These sales ran from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
"It's been good business this morning," said Abdul Salam, manager of Tom and Jerry's Cell phones. "We had a lot of customers early — about 50 in like the first hour or so. People will come out at 6 a.m. if there's a sale and that's what they did today."
Downtown St. Thomas was a different story, however, as a lack of cruise ships kept business on the low. With no ships at the West Indian Co. Ltd. dock, there was plenty of parking at Havensight Mall. Several stores were closed.
Still, Kathy Schlesinger, manager of Dockside Bookshop, said things had been "hopping" at the newly remodeled store all day. Many of the shoppers appeared to be gearing up for Christmas, she said.
At Royal Caribbean, sales manager Kumar Gaikwad said even though there were no ships people had come in to shop – all of them locals. But he said this year was "tremendously different" from previous years.
At Lockhart Gardens parking was less available and Kmart cashier Shaneel Harley said the store had been busy all day.
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