Leading shopping centres around the Eastern Cape are bracing for the much-hyped and anticipated Black Friday shopping bonanza in less than 48 hours time.
The one-day sales rush, originally an American tradition, has gained momentum in South Africa in recent years, attracting thousands of consumers in the process
Rebosis Property Fund Head of marketing, Christopher Hutchings, said the huge increase in foot traffic last year compared to previous years is a representation of the growth of Black Friday in the country.
The Rebosis stable includes Baywest Mall, Hemingways Mall, and Mdantsane City.
Hutchings said their malls in the province have put extra security measures in place for Friday.
"The Bay West management team has met with all relevant stakeholders, ranging from medical companies, SAPS to fire emergencies. A meeting was held on Tuesday with all relevant stakeholders to discuss the plan of action and finalise everything for black Friday. The Public Order Policing team will be represented on the day," he said.
He said security measures have also been taken in East London and Mthatha.
"We have met with SAPS in all our regions and we have SAPS presence. In some cities, we have got SAPS students that will be sent out of their colleges to come and assist at the mall on the day. Traffic authorities where we boarder national highways will also be present. Then our own security companies as a whole will have additional representative on site," Hutchings added.
Vincent Park Mall's general manager, Joseph Parsely, said the East London shopping centre had an estimated influx of 44 000 customers last year and that they are expecting more than 50 000 people this Friday.
Parsely said the mall's management will hold a logistics meeting on Thursday to discuss security measures that will be put in place.
"We are quite aware of the influx of people we are going to have come into the shopping complex. We have a logistics meeting on Thursday where will arrange for security operations and protocols to be observed particularly with the influx of people expected to come in on Friday, as early as 6 o'clock," he said.
