As  workers at Amazon in Europe strike, retailers are embracing Black Friday, one of the year’s busiest shopping days imported from the US. Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
As workers at Amazon in Europe strike, retailers are embracing Black Friday, one of the year’s busiest shopping days imported from the US. Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

As Amazon workers in Europe strike, retailers woo shoppers with Black Friday deals



Retailers across Europe chased shoppers on “Black Friday” in a test of consumer demand, particularly in Britain, where the spending spree imported from the U.S. looked set to outdo last year.

After last month suffering their biggest decline in sales volumes for four-and-a-half years, British retailers are pinning their hopes on discounts to get shoppers squeezed by inflation and subdued wage growth spending again.

In Britain, the annual promotional event, traditionally focused on electrical goods, has been mainly played out online since 2014, when in-store sales were marred by scuffles.

The jury remains out on whether retailers make money by cutting prices in an event that was imported to Britain from the United States by online retailer Amazon in 2010.

By 3 p.m., Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of UK debit and credit card transactions, had seen an 8 per cent increase in spending compared to last year, and a 32 per cent increase in transactions.

“Consumers may be opting to buy more goods at a lower price rather than investing in a handful of higher-value items,” said Barclaycard’s Paulette Rowe.

Department store John Lewis said its busiest shopping hour had been 9-10 a.m., with an average 705 items ordered per minute.

“It will be our busiest trading day of the year,” John Rogers, chief executive of electricals-to-toys retailer Argos, owned by Britain’s second biggest retailer Sainsbury‘s, told Reuters.

The research firm GlobalData forecasts that UK spending in the period Nov. 20 to 27 - will be up 3.8 per cent from last year at 10.1 billion pounds.

Black Friday’s advocates say carefully planned promotions with global suppliers boost sales while still maintaining margins.

Critics say the discounts drag forward sales that retailers would otherwise have made at full price at Christmas, and can dampen business in subsequent weeks.

Seb James, CEO of Dixons Carphone, told BBC radio that his company gained market share from Black Friday.

As last year, retailers including Britain’s biggest, Tesco, and Amazon are stretching their promotions over up to two weeks, hoping to smooth out demand and reduce pressure on supply and distribution networks.

Clothing retailer Next joined Black Friday for the first time with price cuts of up to 70 per cent. A spokesman for the firm said it was an experiment to see what effect offering discounts on the previous season’s stock, normally sold in the Boxing Day sale, would have on full-price sales.

“Categorically we have not got a stock problem,” said the spokesman. Shares in Next fell up to 1.7 per cent.

Black Friday, the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, was so named because spending would surge and often push retailers into the black for the year.

Its impact is also being felt across Europe.

In Germany, sales promotions on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Nov. 27) are expected to add around 1.7bn euros (£1.5bn) to retailers’ revenues, roughly on a par with 2016, a survey by trade body HDE found.

About 8 million French consumers are expected to shop from Friday to Monday, yielding expected revenue of 945mn euros, according to a study by Kantar TNS for the U.S e-commerce firm eBay.

In Denmark, supermarket chains Bilka and Fotex said their websites had been taken down by cyber attacks at the launch of their Black Friday campaigns.

The sales promotion has also been growing in Italy, where all major retail chains were advertising discounts. The department store La Rinascente was opening until midnight on Friday and advertising discounts of up to 50 per cent.

But Black Friday has had a slow pick-up amongst Spaniards, who traditionally exchange presents on Epiphany (Jan. 6). Just 22 per cent intended to make a purchase on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, according to a survey by Metroscopia for the newspaper El Pais.

It was more subdued in Greece, where the economy contracted by more than a quarter between 2008 and 2016. “People don’t have money to spend,” said 32-year-old Athens shopper George Christopoulos.

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 325bhp

Torque: 450Nm

Price: Dh359,000

On sale: now 

'Cheb%20Khaled'
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes

Favourite hobby: Football

Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20profile
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Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

While you're here
Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

Married Malala

Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.

The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.

Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.

Essentials

The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours 
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.

The specs

Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder

Transmission: 7-speed auto

0-100kmh 2.3 seconds

0-200kmh 5.5 seconds

0-300kmh 11.6 seconds

Power: 1500hp

Torque: 1600Nm

Price: Dh13,400,000

On sale: now

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

NEW%20PRICING%20SCHEME%20FOR%20APPLE%20MUSIC%2C%20TV%2B%20AND%20ONE
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Day 5, Dubai Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Given the problems Sri Lanka have had in recent times, it was apt the winning catch was taken by Dinesh Chandimal. He is one of seven different captains Sri Lanka have had in just the past two years. He leads in understated fashion, but by example. His century in the first innings of this series set the shock win in motion.

Stat of the day This was the ninth Test Pakistan have lost in their past 11 matches, a run that started when they lost the final match of their three-Test series against West Indies in Sharjah last year. They have not drawn a match in almost two years and 19 matches, since they were held by England at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in 2015.

The verdict Mickey Arthur basically acknowledged he had erred by basing Pakistan’s gameplan around three seam bowlers and asking for pitches with plenty of grass in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Why would Pakistan want to change the method that has treated them so well on these grounds in the past 10 years? It is unlikely Misbah-ul-Haq would have made the same mistake.

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

'Ashkal'
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)

Power: 141bhp 

Torque: 250Nm 

Price: Dh64,500

On sale: Now

Jawab Iteiqal
Director: Mohamed Sammy
Starring: Mohamed Ramadan, Ayad Nasaar, Mohamed Adel and Sabry Fawaz
2 stars

The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor

Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000

Engine 3.5L V6

Transmission 10-speed automatic

Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km

Dubai World Cup Carnival card

6.30pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m

7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m

8.15pm: Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m

8.50pm: Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m

9.25pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m

The National selections

6.30pm: Final Song

7.05pm: Pocket Dynamo

7.40pm: Dubai Icon

8.15pm: Dubai Legacy

8.50pm: Drafted

9.25pm: Lucius Tiberius

Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers