Thoughts on Black Friday

He died for a sale.


It has been a week but the past Black Friday still reverberates in the media due to the fact that a temporary worker was killed by a mob of customers.


But hey, what is one trampled worker when it comes to our economy?


And the family of the murdered worker are now suing everything in sight.




For f**k’s sake, what is the matter with these people?


Last week I was listening to the Bloomberg radio program Bloomberg surveillance and one of the guests on the show made the analysis that by next year there will be a copious amount of retail space next year because a lot of retailers will be declaring bankruptcy. So they need to liquidate as much inventory as possible before the creditors get their hands on it. It was his opinion that there was no need to rush out on Friday to take advantage of the sales.

And it appears there is a consensus regarding his perspective.

According to the New York Times, Black Friday accomplished very little.

Retail Sales Are Weakest in 35 YearsRetail Sales Are Weakest in 35 Years

The nation’s retailers turned in the worst sales figures in at least a generation on Thursday, starting the holiday shopping season with double-digit declines across a broad spectrum of stores.

For many chains, the precipitous sales drops that took hold in September and October got worse, not better, in November, despite relatively strong sales in the few days after Thanksgiving.

The International Council of Shopping Centers, an industry group, described November’s figures as the weakest in more than 35 years. Declines were recorded in every retail segment the group tracks, with the biggest coming from department stores, with sales down 13.3 percent compared with November a year ago, and specialty apparel retailers, down 10.4 percent.

Below is an IM conversation I had with a family member regarding that particular development.

Me (10:18:53 AM): was it worth trampling that guy at walmart?
Family Member (10:22:44 AM): yeah b/c you can't really eat a flatscreen.

I wonder what the food riots will bring us.