New York– National chains and global e-tailers aren’t the only merchants participating in the Black Friday promotional fray.
Independent CE dealers including Adorama and Starpower are launching holiday events of their own, including the latter’s annual pre-Black Friday Expo that began here this morning.
Starpower, a four-store dealer and custom installer of premium and ultra-premium A/V and appliances, said the three-day Expo is being held at its recently remodeled flagship showroom, where more than 50 manufacturers including Sony, Samsung, Klipsch, Sonos and Epson are offering demos and special discounts.
Expo deals include a 51-inch HDTV for $428, pairs of custom leather chairs for $999, and an Amana washer for $199, while limited early-bird specials include Blu-ray players for $9 and 32-inch flat screens for $99. In addition, customers who spend $1,500 or more on CE will receive a pair of platinum-level tickets to a Dallas Mavericks home game.
The event will also feature celebrity appearances by Dallas Mavericks players Shawn Marion, Gal Mekel and Wayne Elling, along with the Mavericks Dancers and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and customers can sample gourmet dishes prepared in the showroom’s live kitchens by chefs from Sub-Zero/Wolf, Viking, Thermador, and Alfresco.
Starpower said the event typically draws thousands of customers from as far as hundreds of miles away.
Meanwhile, Adorama, a New York-based imaging and A/V dealer whose website recently tied Amazon for third place in a Consumer Reports satisfaction survey, plans to drive traffic with store-only doorbusters on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Deals will include a 7-inch Asus Google Nexus full HD tablet for less than $200; a 10.1-inch, 16GB Samsung Galaxy tablet with Bluetooth keyboard and desktop dock for less than $300; and a 10.1-inch Asus Transformer touch notebook for less than $350.
In addition, the official CE retailer of the New York Giants will offer visitors a chance to enter a Super Bowl sweepstakes for tickets to the Big Game and VIP events.
“This is an exciting time of year and it’s important that Adorama offers the lowest prices and expert service our customers know us for,” said strategic planning director Ahron Schachter.
