HARLINGEN— Luxe Boutique opened its doors at 7 a.m. to welcome shoppers ready to buy clothes and gifts.
Twenty people were lined up outside before opening, according to owner Fidi Guillen.
Downtown Harlingen had a few stores open for Black Friday sales November 29. Luxe Boutique and the Salvation Army had the most traffic because of their seasonal deals.
Luxe did not announce their Black Friday sale until Thanksgiving at 10 p.m.
On an Instagram and Facebook post they announced to their customers the store would be half off from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 9 to close 30 percent off.
“By 8:30 we had broken our record from the first day we opened these doors,” Guillen said.
“ We were up to 150 percent. Black Friday was a major success,” she said.
Guillen had not done a Black Friday sale since opening but the event attracted new customers and regulars who did their Christmas shopping.
“We still had customers who shopped during the week come back to shop for the sale,” she said.
“People got their Christmas list out of the way. We had at least four customers spending more than a thousand,” she said.
A few Brownsville customers arrived, as well as others from Kingsville and Donna.
“I think now a lot of people are steering away from the mall; they want something different,” Guillen said.
Across the street from Luxe, the Salvation Army was having their own Black Friday sale.
People were looking over the racks of clothing that had been lowered to a dollar a piece. Furniture was half off and the rest of the store 75 percent off.
The store opened at 9 a.m. and the sale continued until 4:30 p.m., later opening up for art night.
Mary Hernandez, 42, has been the general manager at the Harlingen Salvation Army sine 2006.
According to her they have been doing a Black Friday sale for a couple of years.
“Word of mouth is how we usually advertise. We also announced it on our Facebook and now we are swamped,” Hernandez said.
According to her, November and December are the two months when they receive the most donations. Because of that the store remains fully stocked.
Lisa Decilos is a regular shopper at the Salvation Army but this was her first time shopping on Black Friday.
“I called in advance to know if they had a sale. I am searching and looking, I got an owl that was nine dollars originally and it is coming out to 2.25, I love deals,” Decilos said.
Another shopper looking for deals was Liza Rodriguez, 47, originally from Harlingen but now living in Houston. She decided to stop downtown with her mom to see what sales stores had.
“This is my second time Black Friday shopping in I don’t know how many years,” she said.
“I love downtown, which is why it is my main place to go. When I was 16 I would go all of the time but this is my shopping spot for me,” Rodriguez said.
