It was on a cloudy Friday of November 2003 that, for the first time, many London shoppers heard the expression “Black Friday”. Among a growingly buzzing crowd, one large electrical retailer hosted a sale of laptops and other appliances at Staples Corner, a major road junction, like in a one-day clearance.
The event was so successful that other British household merchants followed the idea, which, honestly, was first devised by an American retailer in 1958, when an Indianapolis-based store named Ayres organized a (lucrative) cross-road sale to gain attention in a period of dwindling downtown traffic due to suburban expansion.
Black Friday itself is an American-bornhappening for shoppers and it has only recently landed to the UK (plus other European countries).
Where does the name Black Friday comes from?
According to one tradition, the term would refer to the huge profits made by retailers on that day, as accountants use black to signify profit when recording each day's book entries. According to a different tradition, it was minted by the Philadelphia Police Department in the Sixties to refer to the traffic jams and confusion caused by the over-excited shoppers in search of bargains.
People chase gadgets, food, wines in a frenzy atmosphere all around the country.
The Friday after Thanksgiving - a more spiritual American celebration held on the fourth Thursday of November -, many workers are given a day off to enjoy a long weekend.
In a country with the myth of productivity and where, accordingly, “bank holidays” are almost unconceivable, many stores started to grant significant discounts or to organize promotions for their customers in the attempt to monetize the festive day.
In the UK, the Black Friday is becoming more andmore popular.
This year, British marketing experts maintain that Italian wines will be the big thing.
Consumers have started to learn how many different grapes and blends the Italian tradition can offer and treasure the idea of discovering their own niche Wine: “Mountainous terrain, volcanic soils and an ancient culture of wine production influenced by Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans render Italy the most versatile country in the world of wine” says Ian D’Agata, a Rome-based wine writer and educator.
“This diversity is reflected in the fact that Italy grows the largest number of native wine grapes known, amounting to more than a quarter of the world’s commercial wine grape types”.
Be it Prosecco, the gentle sparkling wine from the North-East of Italy, or Verdicchio, a bold white wine from the Marche region that often improves by aging, or "Cerasuolo", the sophisticated Sicilian red wine, Italian wine is likely to conquer the 2015 Black Friday.
According to the latest Wilson Drinks Report, which provides UK drinks market research and insight from industry expert Tim Wilson, sales of sparkling wine other than Cava and Champagne achieved strong growth with sales up 16% by value. Prosecco is one of the protagonists.
In comparison, both Champagne and Cava saw sales fall back 5% in the first quarter of the year.
Prosecco is a low-alcohol sparkling wine often used for aperitifs, like champagne, and as a main ingredient for cocktails such as Venetian Spritz and Bellini.
According to another research, this year Prosecco has overtaken champagne for the first time in Britain, with sales far outstripping its French rival, according to a study released by research company IRI last September.
Christmas will be a hot period for this challenge between Prosecco and Champagne. Who will win this year?
