Hey, Wal-Mart, you don't own Black Friday!

For years, big box stores dominated Black Friday. But lately, more small chains and franchise outlets are taking on the big boys on the biggest shopping day of the year, looking to make a killing. Here are five that are saying: 'Black Friday, bring it on!'

Kids' drop, parents shop
Kids' drop, parents shop
Kids hit the inflatable slides at Pump It Up, while parents load up on Black Friday deals.
Companies: Pump It Up
Headquarters: Tempe, Ariz.

Many shoppers will get up at the crack of dawn on Black Friday just to grab doorbuster deals like $10 waffle makers and flatscreen TVs for under $200. But dragging the kids along that early can be, well, a drag.

Enter Pump it Up.

The nationwide franchise of kid-friendly recreation centers offers inflatable slides, bounce castles, houses and pizza parties. Four years ago, Pump It Up started Black Friday Drop & Shop events, which allowed shoppers to drop off their kids at a center for several hours while they did their shopping.

"We entertained kids, did arts and crafts with them and served pizza," said Lee Knowlton, CEO of Pump It Up. "Our Black Friday sales jumped 30% to 40% [that year]," he said.

"This is a great event for us and it also keeps the kids active and busy," he said. This year, Knowlton said 140 Pump It Up locations will hold the Black Friday Drop & Shop event nationwide. The price will vary regionally, but the range is $15 to $25 per child for three to four hours of fun-filled babysitting.

Knowlton expects this year's Black Friday sales to increase 10% to 20% over last year. "The bookings are already looking good," he said. "We encourage parents to make reservations early because a couple of our locations have already sold out for the Black Friday event."


By Parija Kavilanz - Last updated November 09 2011: 1:16 PM ET
Join the Conversation
Is this the next Snuggie?

Fleece onesies for adults and slippers with flashlights are some of the wacky products hitting the market in time for the holidays.

Most Popular
 
 
 
 
 

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.