Hasta La Gadget!

Nov 29

Black Friday: It’s not just America

A Black Friday 'hola' from Spain.

(Credit: Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

This week, America’s retailers have put on their finest makeup and highest heels in order to make themselves supremely attractive.

My inbox has been full of enticements, all to celebrate the Feast of the Black Eye Friday.

One seductive missive caught my eye, though. It promised: “Black Friday, sólo 3 días con ofertas irrepetibles?.”

Well, I suppose my name does look a little Spanish after a few sangrias.

The offers were, of course, very special. A Lenovo Intel Core i7, for example. A mere 579. A Bosch washing machine for just 289.

It was then that my brain intercepted my eyes and whispered: “Hey, those prices are in euros.”

This was, indeed, an e-mail from the Spanish department store El Corte Ingles. Oh, don’t ask how I got on the mailing list. (Soccer aficionados will understand if I say I’m a Real Betis fan.) Ask what on Earth El Corte Ingles is doing celebrating Black Friday.