A day and night in the Marina

     

The Death of Black Friday in the Marina (Kinda)

Black Friday, the Friday that is after Thanksgiving is classically designed for large sales and mark-downs in boutiques, large departments stores and so on. But this year, Black Friday seemed to have died in the Marina.

Generally, stores in the Bay Area experience great sales on Black Friday, but according to Elizabeth, the manager at Lush Cosmetics on Union Street, sales this year and the past year have almost diminished due to Cyber Monday.

“Cyber Monday has been slaying Black Friday sales, especially for smaller stores,” said Elizabeth.

Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving where online stores do Black Friday discounts, but online, where the customer can sit comfortably in their own home on the computer rather than standing in a long line attempting to score big.

Another business owner, Brea of Shaw Shoes, said that she hasn’t been marking items down on Black Friday for quite some time now.

“I see it this way,” Brea said, “the customers who are going to go out on Black Friday to buy TVs and video games are not going to come into my store, so why mark anything down? The customers just going out on any Friday are still going to purchase, Black Friday or not.”

Some stores in the Marina, like Shaw Shoes, haven’t been participating in Black Friday sales, while others like Gap, Sephora, Lu Lu Lemon and Nike decided to.

Michael, a manager at Nike said, “Black Friday is always a huge sale day for us. Customers are looking for sales, and if you don’t have ’em you get missed out on.”

While walking down the block on Black Friday, I noticed that some of the larger stores like Nike, Sephora and Gap were having large black Friday sales, with discounts up to 70 percent off. Urban Outfitters fell somewhere in the middle with discounts at 50 percent off.

Smaller boutiques and businesses were scattered on Black Friday. BeGood Clothing had a 15 percent off store wide sale, Brandy Melville had a 10 percent off every purchase sale and My Roommate’s Closet had a buy one item for 15 percent off, buy two for 20 percent off, but most were not interested in participating.

The stores that did not participate said that sales were low, but not surprising, especially because of the rainy weather as well.

“The streets have been empty almost all day. It’s obvious that all the shoppers are downtown,” said Brea.

“This time of the year is essentially go time. Sales are always great around holidays, but Black Friday is just that day where it’s hit or miss. Nothing that we can do about our prices. That’s retail for you,” said Elizabeth.

If you are interested in Black Friday sales, my suggestion would be to head down to Union Square and tough it out, because Black Friday sales are hard to find in the Marina on that day.

Pssst- There’s a new wine bar in the neighborhood!

West Coast Wine & Cheese is the new kid on the block on Union St.

West Coast Wine and Cheese, located at 2165 Union St., is where La Belle Crepe used to be. This new wine bar offers various bottles of wine, cheese and even some small plate options.

According to their website, West Coast Wine and Cheese offers “premium regional wines and cheeses in
a relaxed, unpretentious environment.”

Glasses of wine range from $11-$39 and small plates range from $3-$14.

With their vast selection of wines and cheeses, this cute hole in the wall will sure be one of the next neighborhood hot-spots!

Fall Fashion Season

Sunny afternoon on Union Street, one of San Francisco’s premiere shopping areas.

As the summer season draws to a close, shops and boutiques on Union St. in the San Francisco’s Marina District are gearing up unveil their new fall collections. Various boutiques on Union have already placed their new collections on the floor, while others are waiting to unveil them later this month.

Ambiance, a women’s fashion boutique has already placed some fall items on the floor. This store’s season’s looks are a variety of 60’s inspired ensembles from plaid and flannel, to sharp and edgy tailored looks for the workplace. Ambiance also has perfect jackets for the cold San Francisco nights ahead. “You can never go wrong with a green cargo jacket for fall,” says Michelle, a Union St. shopper, “its perfect for layering.”

Other boutiques on Union are still waiting to premiere their fall collections, like BeGood Clothing. BeGood is planning on releasing their new fall looks in the store and online in late September early October. The interesting thing about BeGood’s new line is that it is all eco-friendly and socially responsible. Their new fall collection includes fabrics like bamboo, organic cotton and silk. Their fall line will include sweaters, basic tees and long sleeve tees for women, crew-necks, henley’s and chambray collared shirts for men. Check their blog for updates.

American Apparel is also launching their fall collections, beginning with their “Sweater Session” and new “Uni-Sex Wear”. The new collection contains long cowl-neck knit sweaters and uni-sex baseball tees and hoodies.

The fall fashion season is upon us and Union St. is a great place to start shopping for your new fall needs!