In a surprise and bold move the national outdoor chain REI to #OptOutside on Black Friday! In other words, REI is going to keep their stores closed on Black Friday in addition to Thanksgiving Thursday! Black Friday is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year and nearly every store is open and promoting their goods heavily. In fact, the Black Friday event is now intruding onto Thanksgiving with a vanguard of retail outlets opening on Thursday.
The Fortune Magazine article on the move says:
In its email Monday, the Seattle-based retailer said it wants its employees and the wider public to use Black Friday as an opportunity to discover nature’s restorative power. “While the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles, we hope to see you in the great outdoors.”
REI is not alone in eliminating holiday hours. Earlier this month, Staples announced that it would not open on Thanksgiving. Like REI, the company touted the move as an effort to let “associates enjoy Thanksgiving their own way.”
REI does note though that their website will be up taking orders and that a skeleton crew will be on-hand to ensure it stays up and functioning.
Be the first to comment