REI To Close on Black Friday
Outdoor retail giant REI has always been a bit of a different animal, starting with the fact that it’s a co-op. But the company made big news Monday with its announcement that all 143 retail stores will be closed on Black Friday, traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year in the US.
Instead, the company will give most of its 12,000 employees a paid day off, using the attention generated by the announcement to promote increased outdoor activity. “For 76 years, our co-op has been dedicated to one thing and one thing only: a life outdoors,” CEO Jerry Stritzke wrote in an online letter announcing the move. “We believe that being outside makes our lives better. And Black Friday is the perfect time to remind ourselves of this essential truth.”
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Although it’s a co-op, it still needs to be profitable. REI clearly believes that positive reactions to the move, which it is promoting with a marketing campaign organized around a social hashtag—#optoutside—are signs it will quickly offset lost Black Friday sales. Already, the campaign made news in Time and USA Today, among other media outlets.
But it’s also a savvy marketing move at a time when in-store sales on the big opening day of the holiday shopping season are broadly in decline anyway, even as online sales continue to increase. Another factor cutting into Black Friday numbers: Retailers are moving sales promotions earlier into November. And for years, there’s been a grassroots campaign, called Buy Nothing Day, which coincides with Black Friday.
Customers will still be able to submit orders on REI.com on Friday, but REI won’t process them until Saturday. The company also does not plan to offer any promotions or sales around Black Friday itself, so there will be no special incentive for people to shop there on the day after Thanksgiving, either. Stores will re-open Saturday.
Whatever the outcome, REI’s announcement is a bold move that counters the trend of retailers like Target, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart, who last year moved their Black Friday sales hours up to start on Thanksgiving night.
Consumer response seems to be broadly positive. REI’s initial post on Facebook about the move has almost 68,000 likes, and the vast majority of the 2,500-plus comments are strongly in favor of the move.
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