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RETAIL Family time turns into shopping time More and more retailers open on Thanksgiving Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 13, 2014 at 6:02 PM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 13, 2014 at 6:02 PM » Social News Pilar Ogier doesn't have a problem with gung-ho shoppers. She is, after all, a manager at a cellular retail outlet and wants to keep customers coming back. Ogier knows the Black Friday routine well, reporting to work long before dawn. It goes with the retail territory, for her and her husband, who manages an apparel store in the Rogue Valley Mall. What  Ogier questions, however, is the expansion of shopping to Thanksgiving Day, which takes family members out of the house on a day they have traditionally spent together. She made a point of letting people know her feelings through social media. "My concern is for families and people who work retail," Ogier said. "The big box stores dictate the hours. If Macy's and Kohl's are open, then the little stores have to open. My whole point is that Black Friday should stay on Friday and keep Thanksgiving for the family." Over the years,  the alarm clock has buzzed earlier and earlier the day after Thanksgiving, she said. Retailing trends, however, have rendered an alarm unnecessary, with shopping starts moving to Thanksgiving Day. This year, Ogier's husband will be sauntering out the door about the time the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles call it quits. Cooking and eating routines will be adjusted accordingly, she said. "He'll have to be at mall at 5:30," Ogier said "If he leaving at 5, he'll be getting ready before that. We'll have to eat at 12 or 1; instead of turkey dinner, we will have to have a turkey lunch so everyone can enjoy that.  The progression has been steady at Rogue Valley Mall. Two years ago, the retail center opened at midnight for early Black Friday shopping. Last year, it was 8 p.m. "The mall is going to open at 6 p.m. and all the majors will be open," General Manager Jeff Barber said. "Most of the stores in the mall will be open, but it's optional for them." Hubbard Bros. Hardware store owner Bob Seus, isn't a big fan of Black Friday, so his thoughts about Thanksgiving sales are predictable. "Hubbard's is open 360 days a year," Seus said. "So there are only five days we're not and I have some regrets about that; there should probably be some other days, too." Seus has done the big post-Thanksgiving Day sales, but now the Crater Lake Highway store with 30 employees opens at 7 a.m. — just like every other day. "Thanksgiving is about being home with the family," Seus said. "When you look at the bigger things in life, that's one of things that is lacking — the opportunity to spend time with family. When you have to cancel Thanksgiving dinner, that's ridiculous." Seus, whose family acquired the century-plus-old hardware store in 1988, said not many retailers were open on Sunday when he arrived in town. "When the big guys come to town, that changes things," he said. In Seus' estimation, retailers can practically give away the store on Black Friday if they aren't careful.  "We basically got out of the day-after-Thanksgiving fray," he said. "It was one of our biggest days of the year, but we didn't make a lot of money. People have done their homework and and are buying one widget here, three widgets there and socks at Fred Meyer. "To compete with Walmart, Target and Sears you have to make enough noise and it's really hard to do. It definitely wasn't worth it for us. For specialty shops, local stores and moms and pops, it's better to put out coffee and donuts and have things 20 percent off." Nonetheless, consulting and technology services firm Accenture reported consumers are ready to shop on Thanksgiving. In its annual consumer survey, Accenture found 45 percent of its respondents planned to shop Thanksgiving Day compared with 38 percent in 2013. Of those consumers planning to shop on the holiday, 47 percent said that they will be shopping in a physical store between 6 p.m.Thanksgiving Day and 5 a.m. Black Friday. “The holiday shopping season is one of the most competitive times of the year for retailers, but they also have a big opportunity to drive sales and acquire new customers,” said Dave Richards, Accenture's global managing director for retail practice. Some big stores — Costco, Nordstrom, Home Depot, T.J. Maxx, and Barnes & Noble among them — aren't playing the role of Santa's workshop on Thanksgiving. But other department stores and discounters find the appeal of an extra few hours of sales too much to resist. As a result, Barber's five-person office staff and other mall employees will be hard at work throughout the 30-hour marathon that ends late Friday night. "I'll be here when we open Thursday and then we'll rotate through Friday night," Barber said. "Along with our security, housekeeping and maintenance staff we'll stagger everybody. We're in the retail business, we just do what the customers demand." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31, and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/Economic Edge.     By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 13, 2014 at 6:02 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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