‘Black Friday’ is coming to Kensington Church Street early this year. Furniture dealer Patrick Sandberg is holding a selected sale of his stock to entice shoppers ahead of Christmas.
Black Friday, the imported marketing initiative from the US when retailers offer huge discounts following the Thanksgiving holiday when shops move “into the black” ie becoming profitable, is now an annual occurrence in the UK.
The promotion has caught on and is now a feature up and down the UK high street and online and this year falls on November 27.
With non-essential shops shuttered in England during the current lockdown, antiques dealers are looking at different ways to attract customers.
Sandberg kicked off his sale earlier this month. He said: “This is a special sale with selected items heavily discounted to promote our website through lockdown 2. Things are very difficult but we are trying to do enough to keep going. Without knowing when this current lockdown will end, we are trying to prepare for whatever happens by promoting our stock online.”
More than 100 items have been discounted and Sandberg has produced a brochure and newsletter that he will mail to existing clients.
During the current lockdown, Sandberg and his team can pack and send items from the shop on Kensington Church Street and arrange for deliveries.
Items ordered by the end of November should arrive before the Christmas holidays.
Sandberg is also offering a viewing service by taking items to customers who have expressed an interest via the website.
He explains: “We have driven over to show people particular pieces that they have seen online so they can see them in their homes before purchasing.
“We have made a number of sales this way recently, including to people in Westminster and Canterbury.”
