Wal-Mart Opening Stores at Mid-Night on Black Friday

Wal-Mart plans to open most of its stores at midnight the day after Thanksgiving, the company said Monday, becoming the latest in a series of retailers to expand hours to lure in shoppers who want to get a head-start on holiday bargain shopping.

The world's largest retailer also is offering shoppers a sneak preview of the discounts it has planned, from laptops to jeans.

As of Oct. 31, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. operated 3,792 Walmart stores, of which 2,882 are supercenters. The company's super centers are typically open around the clock. But the rest of its stores previously opened at 5 a.m the day after Thanksgiving.

Starting at midnight, Wal-Mart will offer discounts on a wide range of items from toys to clothing, including $9 Wrangler jeans and $15 Lego tubs. The company's big electronics sale will start at 5 a.m. Friday, featuring $298 15.6-inch HP Laptops, $198 Emerson 32-inch LCD HDTV TVs and $59 Kodak Digital cameras.

Sears Holdings Corp., which operates Kmart and Sears, Roebuck and Co., said recently that its Sears, Roebuck stores will be opening on Thanksgiving Day for the first time in its history. Toys R Us announced last week that it will open its stores at 10 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.