US DATA: Redbook sales for Nov 26 wk: “Most stores were quite
pleased with their Black Friday sales. Deep discounts, extensive
promotional activities and extended shopping hours drew in customers.
Retailers reported that traffic was up strongly with strong turnover in
women’s accessories, toys and electronics such as flat-screen TV’s and
iPads. Some retailers said it was the best Thanksgiving weekend they had
seen for some time. This final burst of strength was sufficient to
enable many stores to improve their overall monthly averages.”

Year-over-year: Week (w/e 11/26/11 vs year-ago) 5.4%
Year-over-year: Month (November 2011 vs November 2010) 3.9%
Month-over-month: (November 2011 vs October 2011) 2.2%