“Black Friday” was termed a success for retailers as shoppers stormed the LaGrange stores for big deals on hot items.

Whether computers accessories at Staples, luggage at J.C. Penney or boots at Belk, items were flying off the shelves Friday as the Christmas shopping season officially got under way.

LaGrange’s large department stores certainly didn’t miss out on the sales. Shoppers from across the county waited for Belk to open in hopes of receiving gift cards given to the first 250 customers at the store, which opened at 4 a.m.

The cards went very quickly.

“Spectacular would be my words. Very strong,” said Belk store manager Tony Palmer, who, along with his employees, was getting the store ready at 2:30 a.m.

Both women’s boots and home department items were hot during the early morning sale.

“The craziest place in the whole store this morning was lady’s shoes but specifically boots … and then anything in the home department,” Palmer said. “Those were the two hotspots. Way ahead.”

With clothes, jewelry and some electronics all in store, both Belk and Penney pushed items for all types of shoppers.

Penney had posted sales upward of $60,000 by 10 a.m., six hours after opening, day manager Cathy Battle said.

“It’s been going pretty good,” she said.

Battle saw numerous big sellers around the store, but none more than women’s boots and luggage.

“They went fast and we’re going through the catalog now for customers,” she said. “(Black Friday’s) been a big success for us.”

Shoppers were lined up in the dark outside Staples on New Franklin Road waiting to get in. The store had deals on printers, computer monitors, furniture and more.

The biggest sellers of the day were laptops.

“Mostly it’s people looking for technology. That’s what people are looking for this year,” said manager Bryan McMillan. “Everybody’s looking for that new laptop.”

Electronic devices have been big sellers for years. Whether TVs or computers, video game consoles or software, the newest electronics are highly coveted, so much so that some shoppers have gotten trampled in the rush in large cities.

Laptops were “pretty much what people came in for,” McMillan said. “That was far and away why people came in.”

With Black Friday behind them, the only thing to do now is plan for the next one and hope it’s even bigger.

“We had a good crowd this morning,” McMillan said.

Trey Wood can be reached at twood@ lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.