Businesspersons of the city agree that Black Friday was well supported despite the increase in the repo rate that was announced last Thursday as well as the general economic climate.
Mall of the North General Manager Sumari de Ridder said that businesses and shoppers had a phenomenal Black Friday. She said Game and Jet had opened just after midnight and Pick ‘n Pay shortly thereafter, while other tenants opened from 5:30 onwards and traded a little later on Friday evening.
De Ridder said mall’s tenants were very pleased with their shops’ Black Friday performance especially with in excess of 62 000 visitors on the day. “We had no security incidents and the day went extremely well. Mall of the North wants to thank all the shoppers for their support on this day,” De Ridder said.
Provincial Police Spokesperson Maphure Manamela said that there was no increase in crime reported on Friday. “The fact that the Police has raised a lot of awareness about crime prevention over the coming Festive Season may have caused shoppers to be more vigilant,” she reckoned.
Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za
BARRY VILJOEN
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