Greed is Killing "Black Friday" Golden Goose

Image from source, Huffington Post

I saw this coming, and have commented upon it before, probably in this space: Greed is killing the golden goose. "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday"--both greed created quasi-events--are becoming so diluted by greed, they will likely either have to be overhauled or transmogrified into something new.

Presently, stocks are having a bit of a sour tummy after gotten the news that Black Friday is in decline. But it's no surprise. Black Friday itself--originally a "doorbuster" event that started before dawn the day after Thanksgiving--has crept backward to the point where many businesses were open Thursday evening, and some even early Thursday morning. Beyond that, many businesses had offers all week, which renders the day-specific name rather pointless. In addition, the brand has been attached to month-long or even season-long campaigns, not to mention scads of spam emails.

The same has happened to Cyber Monday--a day-specific online sale event, originally--even worse, if that is possible. Amazon and other retail outlets push special deals all season-long, right up to moments before Christmas (and likely after). Neither day is "special" anymore. There is no reason to plan to plunk down the bulk of your shopping wad on either day, when other deals are being dangled for days and weeks. What's the point?

So, I hereby predict: there will be changes to this whole concept. We'll have a special "this is really it" new mega-deals day one year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday will still be a thing. Sort of. But there'll be something new. Or the on-going, every-day specials will have a new name. Trust me on this. But greed will wreck that too.

[Excerpt]

Black Friday Weekend Slows Down As Allure Fades
 
Black Friday fatigue is setting in. Early discounting, more online shopping and a mixed economy meant fewer people shopped over Thanksgiving weekend, the National Retail Federation said Sunday. Overall, 133.7 million people shopped in stores and online over the four-day weekend, down 5.2 percent from last year, according to a survey of 4,631 people conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the trade group. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Chemical Spill in West Virginia Water May Have Started Weeks Ago

Mmmmm, licorice! Image from source, ThinkProgress

The chemical spill into the water supply in Charleston, West Virginia is lending credence to criticism of the "get rid of government regulations" crowd. It's always struck me as an overly simplistic, knee-jerk kind of mantra anyway. Sure, get rid of any regulations that are antiquated or that don't work as intended. But getting rid of regulations for the sake of it? It's preposterous. Regulations exist for a reason, and in this case it is quite obvious that more regulation (and enforcement of regulations) was needed. And how perfect is it that this company is called "Freedom Industries" and that the chemical was apparently a Koch Industries product?

Of course, this isn't over. Rivers flow into other rivers, and on from state to state, affecting poor and rich people alike. And what do you bet they're already formulating an odorless version of this chemical without the tell-tale licorice smell?

[Excerpt]

Water Contamination In West Virginia May Have Started Weeks Ago, Residents Believe
 
When Rich McGervey first heard about the major chemical spill into his water supply, he immediately thought of his five-year-old daughter. “My mind starts running in reverse,” McGervey, a Charleston-based attorney, said. “She had taken a bath Tuesday night, and Wednesday night. And Wednesday night as we were going to bed, she rips up her shirt and starts scratching all over and she says ‘my whole body is itching!’ And she’s never done that before. . .”

Read more at: Think Progress

War on Thanksgiving!

Yep. Image from Think Progress

The War on Christmas is a manufactured, phony-baloney, insanely stupid non-troversy, made up by FOX "News" and perpetuated throughout Right Wing World. But you know what isn't phony? The War on Thanksgiving. Year after year, "Black Friday," the frenzy that is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, has been creeping backward into Thursday. This year, they've avoided all the niceties of letting people at least have their dinner, and then starting the sales. No, they're having sales in the evening, some in the afternoon, some at the crack of dawn on Thursday.

This means, of course, that a whole bunch of workers have to give up their traditional Thanksgiving dinner. This has been true for many years for firemen, police, military personnel, quickie-mart operators and other, sure. But all those folks knew what they were getting into. My husband refuses on principle to participate during times when people are being made to work when they don't want to. And me, I just don't want any part of the nutzoid shopping crowd.

But I still think the corporations are shooting themselves in the foot. But moving the time further and further back, they're diluting the whole tradition, and screwing themselves.

[Excerpt]

Seven Stores That Won’t Ruin Their Workers’ Thanksgivings
 
This year, more than a dozen retailers will open their doors on Thanksgiving Day, leaving millions of workers with little choice but to forgo their holiday to jumpstart the biggest shopping weekend of the year. With profits in mind, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Kmart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, J.C. Penney, Toys R Us, and more, have announced early Thanksgiving hours. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Black Friday Becomes. . .Gray Thursday?

Can you believe it's Walking Dead time in the stores again?
Image from source, USAToday

I did "Black Friday" only once. It was a bust for me, because the stores I happened to be interested in really weren't doing much. Lowe's and Home Depot didn't have throngs, at least not the year I tried it. I'm more apt to try Cyber Monday or other online specials. But some people have turned Black Friday into part of their holiday traditions.

In an effort to capitalize on the demand, and make up for a "shortened" shopping season (due to Thanksgiving being so late in the month this year), big stores like Walmart are jumping the gun further than ever, moving the starts of their big shopping events into dinnertime, and even all the way to dawn, Thanksgiving morning. I get the impulse, but I think they're really potentially defusing their own manufactured tradition. By spreading it out, and bleeding over an especially cherished holiday, they're going to alienate some, make family pariahs of others, and cause confusion about where to go, when. I'm sure there will be some savvy shoppers linked up with cell phones and iPads, networking with friends and family, and scheduling an all-day, all-night blitz. But no way your average shopper is going to do that.

I think they've muddied the concept, and are shooting themselves in the foot.

[Excerpt]

Walmart to launch Black Friday sales earlier

As the holiday shopping season kicks off, Walmart is the latest major retailer to announce an even earlier launch to annual Black Friday weekend sales — beginning at dinnertime Thanksgiving evening. Following a slew of similar announcements from stores including Target, Best Buy and Macy's, Walmart said today that it will hold two major sales events at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday evening, two hours earlier than last year. . .

Read more at: USA Today 

Calvin and Hobbes: Ahead of its Time, Corporate Arrogance

I adore Calvin and Hobbes,  by Bill Watterson, with a passion reserved for exactly two other comic strips besides itself, The Far Side by Gary Larson and Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed. And I'm aware that Calvin's creator is very averse to commercialism. I can't imagine what the "Calvin peeing on X" does to him. Calvin peeing, really? Anyway, I found this strip on the interwebs, and I'm passing it on. But I'll gladly remove it by request if necessary. But it is so on point, so perfect. I just had to share it.

Source: OMGblog

Correction: 2011 Glasses Did Happen

Well, I'm not really surprised. 2011 marks the end of any reasonable reason to have novelty glasses with the year on them. 2010 was the last year until 2020 with two holes in the 0s, and even then there will be a fat "2" in the middle. No matter! The glasses apparently sold like hotcakes and there is money to be made! So, let's just slap a lens in the 1, and call it a day. . .

Michael Moore on Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Michael Moore is making the rounds, promoting his latest movie, Capitalism: A Love Story. It looks good, and couldn't be much more timely. The interview is quite entertaining, and there is an interesting discussion between Moore and Keith Olbermann regarding their "corporate masters." Enjoy.

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