ONE of the biggest shopping events of the year arrived in Gwent yesterday, but there was no havoc to be seen.
The streets of both Newport and Cwmbran seemed to be slightly bare on what is said to be one of the biggest shopping days of the year. 
Friars Walk stores had several deals going on which were released a few days in advance, which included 50 per cent off men’s and women’s clothes and VAT free prices on all fragrances.
However, the actual day didn’t see hoardes of shoppers desperately rushing for a bargain, and instead seemed fairly quiet around midday, with many stores stating that Black Friday appeared to be just “a normal day”. 
The lead manager at the Tesco Extra store in Maesglas, Matt James, said that although the store had offers on, including a Sharp 55inch TV reduced from £529 to £130, they didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
He said: “Our key offers are still here. There doesn’t seem to be so much demand this year and our best offers are still on sale. A couple of years ago, our best products would have been gone by 7am, but not this year.”
Cwmbran Shopping Centre also had several offers on at some of their stores, which included 25 to 50 per cent off at The Entertainer, The Perfume Shop and Yours Clothing amongst offers at other stores, but it was also said to be fairly quiet around the centre. 
The chaotic scenes witnessed two years ago where brawls broke out over cut-price televisions seem to have not matched this year on the high street, which may be due to many stores holding week long offers not only in stores but also online. best buys in Gwent by emailing newsdesk@southwalesargus.co.uk