The reason was simple, everyone wanted to get their hands on a pair or pairs of Nike takkies.
One customer, who spoke fondly about his love for the shoes, said he had waited in the queue since 5am.
“Yoh my man, I have been here all morning. I should have packed a lunch box for this line,” he said, adding that he had his eye on a pair of Nike Air Max shoes.
“I only want that one shoe, man. I hope they don’t run out of stock otherwise I will be very disappointed.”
For some, one pair of takkies was enough. For others, seven pairs were the order of the day.
“I am living my best Black Friday life,” said Carla Fine after she bought seven pairs of New Balance takkies.
She said the queue at the store was not “too bad” and she was “in and out in a jiffy”.
She said she saved about 75% on the takkies.
“I was very specific about what I wanted, so I went straight to New Balance. I’m going to pop in at one more store and head back to work,” she said.
Jabulile Ndlovu and her friend Samkelisiwe Buthelezi said the outing was frustrating.
Ndlovu said they had arrived too late at the Nike Factory Store. “The line is too long. I wanted some nice Nike takkies for my little one. I don’t think we are going to get,” she said.
Her daughter is a year old. “I don’t know what to do now because the lines are too long.”
Buthelezi said they would look for other stores. “We are very disappointed,” she said.