Taipei Times...Costco Wholesale Taiwan Ltd held its first-ever Black Friday promotional event on Friday last week. Shoppers lined up in advance in the chilly weather to grab a bargain even though details of the promotion were kept under wraps by the store prior to the event. Costco says the number of shoppers who took part in the event were in line with expectations and the biggest bargain to be had was a buy-one-get-one-free deal on a 60-inch Sharp TV, which cost around NT$30,000 and came with a free 45-inch InFocus TV. Black Friday is an important occasion in the US retail calendar. During the Thanksgiving holiday period, American consumers take the opportunity to stock up on goods, with retailers offering significant discounts.
At a Costco outlet in Taipei’s Neihu District, members of the public lined up outside from 3am in the morning. By 8am numbers had already swelled to almost 100 shoppers waiting in line to get inside and by about 8:30am large crowds had descended on the store.
(CNA, translated by Edward Jones)