Banana Republic has announced that for the 2010 holiday shopping season that it will have no Black Friday sales event. Instead the clothing store retailer will hold a "Not Black Friday" sale the following week on Friday, December 3, 2010. The retailer feels its core constituents don't turn out for Black Friday and wants to draw them to their stores on a less busy day. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-1021-spending-black-friday-20101021,0,7133060.story

Details of the 2010 Not Black Friday sale have not been released and information on their release date are not currently available from Banana Republic, a division of Gap (Old Navy is another division of Gap as well). In the past, sales have included discounts on holiday favorites such as sweaters and outerwear. http://www.cheapstingybargains.com/183033/banana-republic-black-friday-2009-deals/

Gap, Inc. posted a stronger than expected Q3 2010 earnings forecast, surprising many analysts. Revenue at both Gap and Old Navy stores was up, but declined at Banana Republic stores. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201011040859APDIGITLFINANCE__US_Gap_Sales-1¶ms=timestamp||11/04/2010%208:59%20AM%20ET||headline||Gap%203Q%20earnings%20outlook%20tops%20Wall%20Street%20view||docSource||AP%20Digital||provider||ACQUIREMEDIA||realtedsyms|||US;GPS&ticker=GPS:US Some analysts feel that Banana Republic's decision to hold a Not Black Friday sale is a move to differentiate itself from other retailers, capture the attention of shoppers, and net an increase in sales. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-1021-spending-black-friday-20101021,0,7133060.story This move and the the related poor revenue for Banana Republic stores could indicate a store ready to make aggressive moves to increase sales, and bode well for holiday shoppers.

The 2009 Banana Republic Black Friday sales event featured 30% off a variety of items popular during the holiday giving season. These included men's and women's sweaters and outerwear. http://www.iblackfriday.com/bananarepublic-black-friday-sales.html Overall sales for Banana Republic were in the negative for 2009, but a strong Black Friday Sale season helped bring sales growth back into the positive direction, up nearly 10% over 2008. http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/the-return-of-retail-holiday-spending-2009/?display=wide