Sale
Shoppers are reflected in the window of a retail store displaying a sale sign in central Sydney, Australia, October 10, 2016. Picture taken October 10, 2016. Reuters/David Gray

Black Friday sale may be a retail event identified with the US, but other countries are fast adopting the practice to help move inventory for the coming yearend holiday sales. A growing number of the 140,000 retailers in Australia, such as Myers, have their own version of the shopping holiday after Thanksgiving which happens on the fourth Thursday of November.

Myer’s version, Super Cyber Sale, runs from Friday through Saturday in its online and bricks-and-mortar stores. There would be great deals on clothing, housewares, cosmetics and small electrical appliances, Sanette Sam, Myer Perth store manager, says, Yahoo News reports.

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of Australian Retailers Association, notes the increasing popularity of Black Friday sales in the country. More local retailers are offering deep discounts on the two days as shops seek opportunities to engage with customers by offering price cuts.

However, Zimmerman discloses that Western Australian retailers are struggling in 2016 as residents temper holiday spending. As a result, the association predicts no significant growth in retail earnings among WA’s over 27,000 shops, expected to earn $5.34 billion in the six weeks leading to Christmas, the same level as 2015’s. Across Australia, the association forecast $48.09 billion sales for the same period, up from $46.99 billion a year ago.

Ahead of Black Friday, a lot of Australian retailers have been discounting their goods, Sydney Morning Herald reports. For Black Friday itself, among the stores to visit are Lenovo for up to 45 percent discounts on its Thinkpad laptops and desktops, Apple for a $200 gift card and Microsoft for $498 price cuts on Surface gadgets.

For games and software, Sony has cheap PS4 bundles, Nintendo has the Classic Mini NES and Xbox One accessories are half priced. For Australians who want new clothes for the Christmas holiday, Jacqui.E has discounts of up to 25 percent, Missguided cuts prices off its clothes by 30 percent and it’s a 40 percent discount that Millers is offering.

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