Black Friday report from the Westfield San Francisco Center, Bloomingdales
On the day after Thanksgiving, I went to the large shopping center in downtown San Francisco, the one which has a Bloomingdales and Nordstrom’s. I went to have lunch with a friend at Out the Door, the sister of Slanted Door, in the basement food court. To my surprise, although the shopping center should have been mobbed — it was after all Black Friday — it was not terribly crowded.
I went to Bloomingdales after lunch and found very good bargains in the shoe department: more than 40% off designer shoes from Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Cole Haan, Sergio Rossi and more. Of course the Sergio Rossi boots I had my eyes on were originally $1000 so 40% off means they still cost $600, which is not exactly cheap.
Upstairs in the women’s designer clothing department, it was 40% off on Marc by Marc Jacobs, Theory, Diane von Furstenberg, among others. But some markdowns were very disappointing. For James Perse shirts and dresses, the discount was only 20%. I’m waiting till the end of Christmas or even till January. James Perse makes the softest, most body hugging cotton shirts but they cost $74 or more.
The most disappointing aspect of the sales, whether at Nordstroms or Bloomingdales, is that the makeup, skincare and fragrance items are not discounted. Annick Goutal perfumes are still sold for $80. Bliss Body Butter is still $35. The sales people try to tempt you by giving you an extra small gift, but the gifts are pathetic. I spent some time at the cosmetics counters of Bloomingdales and Nordstroms to see if a lot of people were buying. Usually at this time of the year, these counters are packed. This year, the sales people seemed bored and desperate to move merchandise.
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