Shoppers find deals, stores greet customers on Black Friday in Florence

FLORENCE—Black Friday is always known as a huge event for customers to get the best deals on the hottest items for the holiday season.

But for Josh Fountain, general manager at Best Buy in Magnolia Mall, it’s truly his Super Bowl.

“I guess you can say it’s like preparing for a championship game. We put a lot of work in it all year long and then when this day comes we’re really excited to be here,” he said.

Fountain’s day started at 2 a.m., making final preparations for the big day. But the real work began at the end of the summer.

“Planning for this event goes back to September. We start then with our inventory levels. We start playing around with what worked last year and what didn’t work last year,” he said.

But the real challenge, Fountain said, is organizing the shelves and making sure customers that have been lined up all night have an easy time navigating the store and can find what they’re looking for.

The day of, employees strolled in at 3 a.m. with smiles on their faces and large coffee cups in their hands. They donned their blue polos and khakis with pride as they blew up balloons and triple checked everything around the store.

At 4:30 a.m., right before the doors open, the 70 employees gathered at the front of the store for what resembled more of a high school pep rally than a business meeting. They chanted and high fived as Fountain announced their goals and expectations for the day and the holiday season.

“When it gets here, it’s nothing but excitement. As you can tell here around the building, they get really jacked up for these kind of events, whether it’s tax free weekend or the holidays,” Fountain said.

Florence resident Barry Poston set up camp outside the store 3:30 p.m on Thursday.

“I do a lot of studying for Black Friday. I know every ad and compare prices,” he said.

This was the fourth year that Poston, 24, spent his Thanksgiving night bundled up outside Best Buy’s doors.

He had plenty of company.

Over 200 people lined the perimeter of Magnolia Mall to be the first few to grab the hottest items off Best Buy’s shelves. Hundreds of other shoppers were in the area looking for other great deals around the mall.

At 5 a.m. the doors opened to what appeared as controlled chaos.

With the help of the Florence Police Department, Fountain set up limits on how many people could be in the store at any given time.

“We just want to make it as safe as possible for everybody involved so we can avoid instances that you always hear about around the country,” he said.

With the disappointing sales from last year’s holiday season, many wonder what this year will bring. Fountain is nothing but hopeful and optimistic.

“It has the potential to be a great and fantastic holiday,” he said. “People are really excited especially in the technology world. These are the gifts everybody wants. We sell fun here.”