For the most part, efforts by some chains to integrate their efforts by setting up a "buy online--pick up at the store" model have yet to catch on.

FORBES: Web Shoppers Tapping The Brakes

Yet while store executives crowed about the crowds, early data suggested the real growth was happening online, as people using computers, tablets and mobile phones gobbled up Internet specials without the hassle of waiting outside stores.

WSJ: Earlier Black Friday Openings Draw Crowds

And a couple of months ago, he branched into homewares with yet another new store, down the street from his flagship and showroom in New York's TriBeCa neighborhood.

WSJ: 20 Odd Questions for Steven Alan