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John Thomson  

Here and there

Black Friday is a bit of an adventure for all who are willing to participate, but not many will be adding air miles to the list like Margaret Salzl, who lives in Edmonton. She will be crossing the border into Whatcom County in the dead of night hoping to find some bargains in Bellingham on Friday, November 26th.

Regular Black Friday bargain-hunters might have to change their usual shopping plans. Several Bellingham stores will open when the clock strikes midnight, hours ahead of the usual starting times of 4 or 5 a.m.

There's a long history of Canadians shopping in Whatcom County, but a variety of factors has made 2010 potentially a tremendous year for border retailers in terms of sales.

The search for a good deal is significant enough for some Canadians to put up with long waits at the border crossings. You really have to know your prices because the difference between American and Canadian prices on so many items is very small.

Some Bellingham retailers already have been seeing more shoppers, whether it is American or Canadian. It has prompted stores to add staff and increase inventory for the holiday shopping season.

Bellis Fair Mall will have its official Black Friday kick-off at 6 a.m., with a variety of promotions but will open its doors at midnight because several of its tenants have planned midnight sales.

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John Tietzen, the Wendy's man in the Interior tells me his nine stores have introduced their new natural-cut fries with sea salt. This is the first time the company has fully redesigned its fries.

The natural-cut sea salt fries are said to be made from Russet potatoes and sliced 'natural-style' with the skin on, then cooked in proprietary oil that is said to contain no allergens and has 0 gms trans fat per serving. They are finished with a dusting of natural sea salt.

Wendy's new natural-cut fries will be priced the same as its current French fries and be offered in the same four serving sizes.

We were also talking about the upcoming “Make A Wish” Dream Lift Day. This has been celebrated for the last seventeen years in all his stores. There is a Dream Lift planned for late in 2011 to Disneyland. Last year they raised $99,762.58.

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Retail analysts are cautiously optimistic about the holiday retail season.

Maureen Atkinson, of J.C. Williams Group global retail consultants in Toronto, said retail sales are expected to modestly increase by 2% to 3% in Canada this year over 2009.

But recession-weary consumers are still a little too gun shy to spend big dollars on holiday gifts, Atkinson said.

A survey done for TD Bank Financial Group found 62% of people have set a holiday shopping budget, but most people will spend more than they planned. Only 28% will stick to their budget. Among those who break it, four in 10 spend 10% more than planned.

The majority of Canadians (63 per cent) plan to fund their holiday cheer with savings and one-in-five (21 per cent) plan to use credit cards. However, 20 per cent say they are not sure how they will pay for the season.

The RBC survey also found that a third of time-crunched gift givers (35 per cent) plan to do some of their holiday shopping online this year.

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It’s Grey Cup time and the stadium in Edmonton is sold out and the weather looks cold, bleak and snowy. Edmonton will put on quite a party, you can bet on that.

Did you know the winning team’s players each will receive a bonus of $22,800, plus a Grey Cup ring worth anywhere from $10,000 to $16,000. The losers in the game each receive a cheque for $14,800.

The teams have also received $3,300 for the semi final game and $3,500 of the division final.

The minimum salary in the CFL is $42,000 a season.

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Last week in my column I asked the question,“What ever happened to Chicken Bones candy?”

Like always, one of my readers had the answer.

Chicken Bones are still made by the original maker, Ganong, of St. Stephen, NB. They are for sale in the factory store on the main street in St. Stephen. I've been there many times. They're even mentioned right up front in their Google listing.

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With the official announcement of the time and place of the Royal Wedding between William and Kate the commercial side of this extraordinary event kicks into gear.

You can buy plates, glasses, coins and whatever right now on the streets of London. More gadgets and gimmicks will be there for all to purchase during the six months leading up to the date and many after. The event will be one of the biggest since William's Mom, Diana’s wedding a number of years ago. This will bring much in the way of fresh cash into the tills in England and it couldn’t come at a better time for the country.


More John Thomson articles

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About the Author

John Thomson is the Okanagan's pre-eminent business columnist writing his column, Rumours and Things, for over 24 years. Plugged in to the valley's who's who, John keeps his readers coming back for more with his straight talk and optimistic perspective on where we are headed next.

When John is not writing his column, he runs a sixteen year old think tank called the Executive Roundtable and holds his popular "Thomson Presents" quarterly business speaker seminars.

Have a comment, question, or tip for John? 

E-mail John at
[email protected]
or send him a fax at 250-764-8255.

 



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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