By Tess Stynes
Toys "R" Us Inc. said it plans to open most of its stores
Thanksgiving Day, joining a growing list of retailers aiming to
extend the much-hyped Black Friday holiday shopping frenzy.
The retailer, which plans to open at 5 p.m. on Nov. 28, also
said that its reward-card members will be able to get some
Thanksgiving deals on Nov. 27. The company is planning four-hour
deals, as well as Thursday through Saturday discounts to attract
shoppers.
Best Buy Co. (BBY) on Thursday said more than 1,000 of its
stores will open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
In recent weeks, Kohl's Corp. (KSS), Macy's Inc. (M) and
OfficeMax Inc. (OMX) have said many of their stores will open at 8
p.m. on Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) said most of its Sears
and Kmart stores will open Thanksgiving Day, with Sears stores
opening at 8 p.m. and Kmart stores opening at 6 a.m. and staying
open for 41 hours straight through Black Friday.
Retailers in recent years have been trying to get a jump on
deeply discounted Black Friday shopping by opening on Thanksgiving,
in an effort to boost struggling sales during the slow economic
recovery. Traditional brick-and-mortar companies are also trying to
keep up with online retailers, who offer Thanksgiving Day
deals.
Last year, despite an outcry from some employees and
traditionalists, national chains including Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. (WMT), Target Corp. (TGT) and Sears opened their doors
Thursday. Best Buy, along with Macy's and Kohl's, waited until
midnight.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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