From the so-called doorbuster to early bird specials and discounts of up to 75 per cent off some items, Jamaicans will have the opportunity this Black Friday weekend to cash in on some major deals while leaving money in their pockets.
The range of products that have been heavily discounted includes the usual offerings of clothing and appliances. However, one microfinance lender is offering gift vouchers of a significant dollar amount this time around.
Loop News spoke with several businesses including Dunn’s Electrical, Ammar’s Department Store, Fontana Pharmacy and Courts Ready Cash about their Black Friday specials and shares what’s on offer below:
Fontana Pharmacy CEO Anne Chang:
Managing Director at Fontana Pharmacy, Anne Chang shared that the pharmacy chain has been stocked for Christmas since the end of October, a deliberate step taken by management to avoid delays caused by supply chain issues. “We also wanted to beat the delays at Kingston’s port.
For Black Friday, Chang said “Fontana will be offering 25 per cent off bed and bath and curtains as well as comforters and related items. The same 25 per cent off will apply to kitchen items and toys, “including our brand new Uno Jamaica game,” said the managing director. She said d?cor items such as vases, frames and cushions will also attract 25 per cent off.
At the same time, Fontana is offering 20 per cent off Christmas d?cor, including trees, ornaments and wreaths.
“We will also have some select items on sale in-store and online on Friday,” Chang shared while noting that deals will also be offered on Monday, November 28, but online only.
“We are already extremely busy so it will only be crazier. It’s only one day so I expect a lot of traffic,” Chang said as she looks forward to Friday.
Dunn’s Electrical – Shaddae Dunn:
For persons wanting to cash in on what’s on offer at Dunn’s Electrical located at Red Hills Road in St Andrew, the “door buster special” is worth considering. It runs from 6 am to 8 am on Friday when an extra five per cent discount is offered.
“We’re having our Black Friday sale this Friday through to Sunday with everything being up to 50 per cent off,” Shaddae Dunn of Dunn’s Electrical said.
Dunn explained that “even though we’re best known for electrical items, we’re positioning ourselves to be also known for home d?cor, furniture and home accessories, plumbing and everything like that”.
She shared that there will also be 50 per cent off home d?cor and lighting fixtures, 20 per cent off fans, 10 per cent off bulbs “and a lot more”.
Ammar’s Department Store, Managing Director Michael Ammar Jr:
“We’re looking forward to a huge Black Friday because I think it’s now part of the Jamaican shopping culture and I think people have been looking and holding off, waiting for the event,” said the Managing Director of Ammar’s chain of stores, Michael Ammar Jr when contacted by Loop News.
“As usual, we’re getting into it big time. First of all, we have a storewide sale, every single item is on sale,” he stressed.
Ammar Jr explained that Black Friday sale is a little different from other sales as “this is a store full of brand new merchandise that has come in for Christmas”. He noted that the usual end-of-season sale is what’s left over but for Black Friday “this is all brand spanking new merchandise going on sale; every item, in every department, in all the stores”.
Ammar’s is offering a base markdown of 15 per cent, up to a high of 75 per cent for some items. There will be big markdowns on houseware items with bedding coming in at 25 per cent off, and curtains and rugs at 20 per cent off.
For customers who shop during the early bird special on Friday and Saturday between 8 am and 10 am, there is an extra 10 per cent of.
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“So if you were to buy something at 25 per cent off during the early bird, you get 25 off plus 10 per cent. Those are huge savings,” said Ammar Jr.
He told Loop News that after the setbacks of the COVID years “thank God this (2022) has been a really good year, we’re back to normal”.
Having not laid off any of his staff during the pandemic, Ammar Jr said his full team is in place and will be going all out to ensure shoppers have a memorable Christmas as well.
Courts Ready Cash, brand manager, Suzanne Campbell:
There will be Black Friday with a twist for persons doing business with Courts Ready Cash, the microfinance arm of furniture and appliance store, Courts Jamaica Limited.
Brand Manager for Courts Ready Cash, Suzanne Campbell, told Loop News that the first three persons at each of its 47 locations to take out a loan of at least $80,000 will be presented with a $10,000 Courts gift voucher.
“We think it’s a significant and quite attractive offer and we thought we would do it as we celebrate our tenth year in Jamaica as a brand,” Campbell stated.
For its anniversary celebrations, Courts Ready Cash is also giving Jamaicans the opportunity to win cash prizes at the locations where it conducts its ongoing road shows. Patrons have the chance to win up to $20,000 if they take out a loan and also have the opportunity to grab cash in the cash machine.
Additionally, Courts Ready Cash is running a prize promotion where 10 individuals will each win $500,000 by the start of the New Year.
“We’re excited about that so we are encouraging persons to, if they need to fix up their home or purchase anything that they want, to consider Courts Ready Cash,” Campbell said.