REI: Closing on Black Friday So Employees AND Customers Can Enjoy The Great Outdoors
Outside over inside. Adventures over things.
Just like last year, REI recently announced that all 149 REI stores across the country will be closed this Black Friday, November 25th…
For eight decades our co-op has been dedicated to one thing: a life outdoors. That’s why last Black Friday we put purpose ahead of profits, closed our doors and paid our employees to head outside. And 1,408,117 of you skipped the stampedes and joined us.
Our values haven’t changed. This year we’re closing again. Instead of feeding the Black Friday frenzy, we’re closing our 149 stores and giving our 12,287 employees a paid day off.
So consider this your invitation. On November 25th, REI will close our doors and #OptOutside. Will you go out with us?
I love this! Do you wish more stores would take this stance or do you enjoy the Black Friday shopping craziness?
(Thanks, Patricia!)
When I worked in retail I didn’t mind working Black Friday but that’s when it was on Friday morning…. Then Kmart wad the first to stay open on thanksgiving and I really hated that… I do go out shopping on Black Friday however now it’s actually on Thursday evening and I am beginning to hate that… I just wish companies would go back to at least midnight to open…
That is true. It is not black friday anymore. It is black thursday. :/
I absolutely love this! Way to go REI!
Black Friday isn’t fun anymore. All the stores open on thanksgiving now. I’m not skipping family time for shopping. I used to go shopping Black Friday when the stores opened at 4am. That was fun and a huge adrenaline rush lol.
Love it!! Good for them!💙
I do go out on Thursday but that is only because the stores are open. If they don’t open till Friday morning that’s okay with me but I definitely prefer Thursday at 7pm over 12am on Friday.
That’s great! More stores should do this. I personally hate the craziness of black friday. I dont think what you save is worth the madness.
Good for them! I hate the new trend of stores opening on Thanksgiving. That’s family time. Friday is ok. I used to work retail and, although it was crazy, it was just one day. I will never shop on Thanksgiving and I hope others don’t either so stores don’t feel the need to stay open.
Way to go REI!!! Enjoy life. Don’t fall in the the traps of our over consumerist culture. Stuff doesn’t make you happy. It just makes you want more.
Love this! It’s probably optimistic to hope more stores follow suit, but how great would it be to actually enjoy Thanksgiving as a holiday again and not as something to check off the Christmas Prep To Do List? Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, all about family and gratitude rather than gifts and elaborate events and as the years have passed and Black Friday has become such a big deal it has felt that Thanksgiving has become just a blip on the radar as opposed to an event in and of itself. Thank you REI, Mall of America, etc! (In the name of full disclosure, I like Black Friday, I just kinda wish it were more of Black Saturday so we could leave Thanksgiving alone lol.)
Well said!
Yes!
I really want them to stay closed Thanksgiving. Let’s keep it like that!
I’m happy that it’s not simply a day off for REI employees, but a PAID day off. I don’t care about shopping on Black Friday or if it runs into Thursday because I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving; but when I used to be a retail worker Thanksgiving work meant time-and-a-half pay, which was really necessary for me. So it’s the treating workers well that I appreciate here, not necessarily putting off the consumerism for another day (because if you think this means people won’t be shopping at REI from Sat Nov. 26 through Dec 24, and that REI is trying to make money as a company, you’re kidding yourself).
If REI wants to close on Friday, that’s awesome for them and their employees. It doesn’t really affect me as there is not an REI retail location near me. I do support retail businesses staying closed on thanksgiving though. There are already lots of people who work Thanksgiving who sometimes overlooked (police, nurses/doctors, firefighters, even restaurant workers and gas station attendants). My best friend and I used to make a whole thing about Black Friday. We would get going at like 5 am and have a whole plan for what stores in what order we would hit. I miss that experience. Now it’s so stretched out, it’s not as fun.
I worked at a gas station when I was a teen and not once did anyone feel bad that I had to work on holidays in fact the gas station was extremely busy. My mom would bring me a plate of food so that I could enjoy it on my break, I agree there are certain professions and jobs over looked but others aren’t. Whether the stores all stay open or closed someone is always working.
I agree. Been working as a nurse on thanksgiving for over 10 years. People are way overly concerned about the plight of retail workers but forget people like yourself.
My brother-in-law is a sheriffs deputy and has missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc pretty much every year since he started that job. He is senior enough now that he doesn’t HAVE to, but they don’t have kids so he volunteers so that someone else can have the time. I do think that it is nice to limit those who work on Thanksgiving to essential services.
Elle, your BIL is awesome and so is your sister to “share” him. So nice of him to work so those with kids can spend time with them on the holidays. Please tell them both the H2S community thanks them (and all who work on holidays – a great big THANKS!)
I’m a nurse, and when my kids were small, during Thanksgiving and Christmas, I had co-workers (whose kids are grown) who would switch days with us who have small kids so we can spend time with the family. I was always grateful, and now it’s time to pay it forward 😊
Love this!
I hated working Thanksgiving as a retail employee….either you have the AM shift and miss the lazy family morning or you have the PM shift and miss the mealtime games and afternoon time.
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At the stores I was always a little sad for people who weren’t able to just be home and relax, instead rushing out to snatched deals (which are usually junky, not that big of a deal, and the same sale runs the next day, the stores just make you think it’s limited quantities)
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Big reason I left retail, which I actually enjoyed working DURING the holidays just not ON the actual holiday.
I love it!
Way to go REI!
Yes, LOVE this!
Black Friday was a holiday unto its own with some girlfriends and I. The nutty ritual of up early, armed with coffee and bargains to be found was so much fun.
When stores started their midnight non-sense I caved and went to one store and have never done it again. Moving to Thanksgiving night just leaves me angry. Enough is enough! There is not a single retail deal big enough for me to endorse this nonsense!
Cheers to you, REI. I hope others will follow.
Good for them maybe others will follow suit! Christmas is about soo much more then just a wrapped gift
BIG KOODOS for REI!!!
Need more stores thinking like this putting what matters back into perspective.
Cheers to REI. Completely support you and hope that other stores will follow your example.
It supports the real meaning of Thanksgiving.
Definitely 2 thumbs up for REI. Glad to know that there is a company that cares about their employees than just making money like others on Black Friday.
I absolutely love it!
Well Done!
Loving it! So happy that stores are finally realizing that consumers are not into shopping on Thanksgiving. I rather be home safe and away from the craziness of parking, loooooong lines and rude people.
Love it! Check out the Facebook group Boycott Black Thursday if you want stores to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day. (It’s not my Facebook group, by the way, I just like it!)
Black Friday isn’t even the correct term for it anymore. When it started early on Friday, I didn’t think it was that bad, though I still didn’t go because the stores get so crazy.. Starting on Thursday evening means that many of the people who work retail miss out on time with their family. I think it’s selfish for stores to expect their employees to leave their families so that people can get a few extra hours of shopping in. There are so few times in life anymore when we get to sit down and truly enjoy one another’s company. Stores like REI realize this and are taking a stand against corporate greed. I definitely support their efforts!
LOVE THIS
Good for them! I really hate that stores are opening on Thursday now. It takes away from time with family. However, we as the consumers are the ones with the power to stop it. If enough people don’t shop on Thursday, if they don’t make the sales they are looking for, they won’t do it. Plain and simple. Nothing says how grateful you are for your family and everything you have like leaving your family early to go fight people for that last $5 toaster. I know other professions are working, but those are more necessary jobs. And for those who make the argument that people need the time and a half – that’s like $40 extra for that day, before taxes. I honestly don’t think that that is worth it.