Target's Black Friday bet: $3 appliances

Retailer's 'doorbuster discounts' reportedly include a 32-inch LCD HDTV for $246 and a $10 free gift card when you spend $100 or more.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com senior writer

chart_black_friday.ju.jpg
9 extravagant holiday gifts
Each year, Neiman Marcus unveils a handful of over-the-top fantasy holiday gifts. Take a quick spin through the luxury retailer's 2009 Christmas Book and you just might forget about scaling back this year.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Target is hoping to lure this year's Black Friday shoppers with $3 toasters and coffeemakers, deep deals on high-definition televisions, and discounts of 50% on clothes and toys, according to a Web site that says it has received a leaked copy of the retailer's circular.

Brad Olson, founder of Gottadeal.com, a Web site that markets itself as one of many "official" Black Friday deal sites, said Wednesday that he received a copy of the discount retailer's ad.

For competitive reasons, most merchants typically keep a tight lid on their promotions for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, until a week before.

Olson, who's been tracking annual Black Friday deals from Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Target (TGT, Fortune 500), Sears (S, Fortune 500) and other chain stores for the past six years, said Target's deals look "pretty aggressive" this year.

That's not particularly surprising given that the past 10 months have been a sales nightmare for most merchants.

Given that trend, sellers need to start the holiday shopping season -- their most important sales period of a year -- with a bang.

The November-December gift-buying period can account for 50% or more of sellers' annual profits and sales.

Olson said Target's Black Friday "doorbuster" deals, or the extra juicy sales given for a limited time to early shoppers, look very attractive.

These include a Westinghouse 32-inch LCD HDTV for $246. "The $246 HDTV is the lowest price that we've ever seen for that model," said Olson.

Also in the ad: $3 Chefmate appliances such as toasters, coffeemakers and sandwich makers; a 40-inch Apex 1080p LCD HDTV for $449 with a $10 gift card; a TomTom GPS for $97; a Garmin GPS for $179; an RCA dual-screen portable DVD player for $88; a $39 Polaroid V 130 Camcorder; 50% off on select toys; and children's clothing for between $5 to $7.

The ad said the merchant is also offering a free gift card worth $10 if you spend $100 or more at its stores from 5 a.m. to noon on Black Friday.

According to Target's circular, some of the sales are valid only on Black Friday while others are good through Saturday.

Target spokeswoman Sarah Boehle said the company "is unable to confirm the accuracy of any [Black Friday] two-day ads or pricing information that is posted online."

"Each year we chronicle lots of excitement about our ads when we hear that they were prematurely leaked,' said Boehle. "We really appreciate all the interest. We encourage consumers to look for our official [Black Friday] ad."

Target is expected to release its weekly circular the week of Nov. 22.

Talkback: Are you giving more or fewer holiday gifts, and how much do you plan to spend per gift this year versus last year? E-mail your response to realstories@cnnmoney.com and you could be part of an upcoming article. For the CNNMoney.com Comment Policy, click here.  To top of page

Features
They're hiring!These Fortune 100 employers have at least 350 openings each. What are they looking for in a new hire? More
If the Fortune 500 were a country...It would be the world's second-biggest economy. See how big companies' sales stack up against GDP over the past decade. More
Sponsored By:
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Sponsors
Worry about the hackers you don't know 
Crime syndicates and government organizations pose a much greater cyber threat than renegade hacker groups like Anonymous. Play
GE CEO: Bringing jobs back to the U.S. 
Jeff Immelt says the U.S. is a cost competitive market for advanced manufacturing and that GE is bringing jobs back from Mexico. Play
Hamster wheel and wedgie-powered transit 
Red Bull Creation challenges hackers and engineers to invent new modes of transportation. Play

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.