Retailers prepare for Black Friday in San Mateo County

But in San Mateo County, in-person storefronts are still preparing for Black Friday — with mixed expectations. 

At Appelblom Jewelry Co. in San Mateo, certain pieces — marked by red tags — are on sale for 50% for Black Friday, sales professional Atif Khan said. Other pieces are marked at 15% to 20% off. 

The store will typically see a 50% increase in sales on that day, Khan said, noting that it’s a good time to purchase a special piece of jewelry for the women in your life. 

“Wives, mothers, daughters — ladies-oriented,” Khan said. 

A pop-up shop in nearby Burlingame known as The Cashmere Sale is also participating in Black Friday with a different deal — any customer who makes a purchase Nov. 29 will be eligible to win $500 toward their next purchase.

As a wholesaler who will only be in Burlingame until Dec. 15, owner Gail Karp said marking down her items with a typical Black Friday sale wouldn’t make sense for her business. Instead, she’s entering customers into a raffle-style deal.

“Because we’re seasonal, we really don’t participate. Our prices that we start this deal with are the prices that we end the sale with, because we’re already a wholesaler, so our prices are already competitive back in October,” she said. “But we want to participate so that people come in here, so we think that this is a great way to get them.” 

The Cashmere Sale has operated in 20 different stores throughout the country for 23 years, Karp said. 

Another clothing-oriented store in Burlingame, Trina Turk, is also participating in Black Friday so that clients can join in on the fun, manager Samantha Leung said. The store is conducting a 25% off sale on entire purchases throughout the week, from Nov. 22 to Dec. 1. 

That’s not necessarily because Trina Turk sees a large increase in sales during that time, according to Leung, who cited the Black Friday crowds as off-putting to the store’s clientele. 

“Generally we don’t,” she said. “Sometimes throughout the weekend we might get a little bit busy, but from what I’ve heard from my clients, they just don’t like being outside on Friday.”