Downtown Stores Offer Black Friday Deals, Promote Plaid Friday Initiative

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now ensconced in the national shopping lexicon, in Downtown Concord, retailers are more focused the Midnight Merriment celebration scheduled for Dec. 2, when downtown stores stay open until midnight.

However, that doesn’t mean some stores won't be offering deals, in an attempt to inject at least a little competition into the purchasing process.

At , storeowner Michael St. Germain said the store would be offering 50 percent off second personalized gift items purchased at the store for Black Friday. The store takes a print or digital picture and then emblazons the image onto puzzles, mugs, metal prints, calendars, Christmas cards, and other items. Everything is done in house, he said, so the store can preserve the quality of the items and make customers happy. St. Germain hopes that a new item he has brought into the store, bracelets, with personal images, will be popular this year. For St. Germain though, the madness that can sometimes come with Black Friday has nothing to do with the holiday season.

“Somebody has to say this is not in the Christmas spirit,” he said. “What are you doing? Getting up at 3 o’clock in the morning … for what?”

will be hosting Santa reading stories to children as part of the Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Black Friday at 2:30 p.m. however, the store will not be going full throttle for the day, according to storeowner Michael Herrmann.

“It’s never been very important to us,” he said. “Midnight Merriment is five times bigger.”

The store will be offering 25 percent off items in its remainder bin, Herrmann said.

Over at , Sue Phillips said that the store would be open from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will offer some specially priced items for the evening but their focus too will be on Midnight Merriment.

will be offering 25 percent off retiring Vera Bradley designs and if shoppers purchase $100 or more in items, they will get a free Suzani holiday tote bag for free, while supplies last. Customers who purchase a Trollbread bracelet and clasp will receive a free bead.

will be offering some Black Friday specials but only to members of the store's email list. Owner Laura Miller said shoppers could sign up for the email list and then can ask for the special discount at the register, after making their selections. She said the email program not only gives shoppers a discount but enforces a bit of loyalty, too.

The store has a number of new offerings that are on the shelves in recent days, with a focus on educational initiatives and interactivity, she said.

Plaid Friday

If the new Plaid Friday movement catches on, Black Friday may get a bit busier for downtown retailers. The national shopping initiative, which is just starting up in Concord, hopes to get residents to shop at locally owned businesses on that day, instead of frequenting the malls.

All of the storeowners agreed that the initiative was an important one and might make Friday a bigger day than normal.

“It’s very important for people to be thinking about where they shop, now more than ever,” Herrmann said.

Miller also endorsed the idea, in an effort to preserve downtown businesses.

“If all goes well, it could be insane,” she said. “I like it that way.”

Be Local Concord

Downtown merchants have also been focusing their efforts on a relatively new Be Local Concord program.

For a $10 membership, shoppers get a tote bag and a slew of discounts at local businesses, as well as announced specials and events throughout Concord during the year.

Editor's Note: The original version of this story had the wrong date for Midnight Merriment. It's on Dec. 2.