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[ct36]

I went to the mall on Black Friday. I was there from around 1 to 4:30. It was extremely packed, and it really surprised me. Last year, there weren't too many people out anywhere. It wasn't much busier than an average Saturday. You know how you see the packed malls on Black Friday on TV? Well, that's how it was at the Asheville Mall. 2009 and 2010 almost seem fake compared to this year, being that it didn't seem to be crowded enough at all the past two years. It was really hard to get through the center parts of Belk since there were a lot of people passing through to get to the other part of the mall. It was a little tacky when people started to pay out at the Laura Mercier counter
They must have been short upstairs as the lines up there were around 15-20 people deep.
Ulta's line was probably also around 20 deep, and wasn't moving at all.

Don't even get me started on the South Asheville Target! We stayed there around 10 minutes before we decided it was ridiculous and left. The line was (if I and people I have heard from are correct) was from the Target store all the way to Office Max. Probably 1,000 people total. We went over to the Asheville Target (we were there by 12:30) and we found absolutely no line to get in the store, whereas I heard someone say at the mall their friend waited over 2 hours before they even got inside the store! From now on, we are going to the Asheville Target on Black Friday instead. It seemed like every store opened before they said they would (except Target). I really love Black Friday shopping! Can't wait until next years!

Also, I'm extremely surprised that Dillard's refused to have a sale. Aren't they doing poorly? I don't think they had a sale, since the mall opened at 4 and it was definitely not anywhere near open at 4. Things like this are going to finish them. Dillard's doesn't have sales like Belk and doesn't have brands and customer service like Nordstrom. I just feel like they are getting themselves into trouble. Dillard's just isn't exciting. Nordstrom has fabulous brands, nice stores, and amazing customer service. Belk has good sales, and can reinvent themselves with better brands and nicer stores. Dillard's stays the same. Year after year. It's a good thing that there is no Macy's in Asheville, because I'm not sure I can see them staying open with Macy's too. Belk generally has better brands and is more upscale than Dillard's in women's, however, Dillard's generally has a better/more upscale men's department. Another thing to point out is that Dillard's often has "double header" stores, and I, like most people. would much, much rather go to a 3 story 200,000 square foot Dillard's than having 2 separate stores 2 story store equaling 240,000 square feet. While it does give more space, it is often a pain and with the combination of Dillard's being boring and overpriced, I could definitely seeing people choosing Belk or Macy's rather than having to go to two separate Dillard's stores.