We don't have it in my country so I never really thought much about it but who loses during these massive price cuts? The manufacturer/producers or the retailer?

The child whose parents got trampled to get it a new elmo doll.

According to wiki, the retailers benefit the most

"Later an alternative explanation was made: that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss ("in the red") from January through November, and "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or "in the black".[5][7] For large retail chains like Walmart, their net income is positive starting from January 1, and Black Friday can boost their year to date net profit from $14 billion to $19 billion."

The people who have to give up their thanksgivings to go work.

I'd shut *everything* down by 12:00, except for emergency services and utility-esque services to keep the lights on. The blue laws of the past weren't all bad.

The people who die in the crowds and the people beat up by raging parents trying to grab the last something-or-other.

Nobody looses...

It is a big profit for everybody due the massive volume of sales.

People like me that doesn't have enough cash even for Black Friday Sales :D

Also I'm on the other side of the world. So shipping kills ugh...

The real losers here are the consumers. Black Friday is just a glorified clear-out sale to me.

Isn't that kind of the point of Black Friday?

Exactly. I've seen stores mark up their prices heavily just to appear to be having a sale.

For instance, in one of those famous "three-day sales" our shopping malls have, I found a Wii Mini for 50% off...original price ~USD190...