Outdoor gear and apparel maker REI to close for Black Friday
27 Oct 2015
Outdoor gear and apparel retailer REI has announced it would be closed on Black Friday Thanksgiving this year.
REI, true to its motto of ''inspiring, educating, and outfitting'' its customers and community to explore nature, will stay closed on one of the US' busiest shopping days.
Employees will instead be encouraged to spend the day outdoors.
In an email yesterday, the company, which operates as a co-op, announced that it was closing all 143 of its stores on Black Friday.
''Instead of reporting to work, we're paying our employees to do what we love most - be outside,'' the email says.
REI's website also stated that stores will stay closed on Thanksgiving, too. The company reassured its members that they would still get deals during the holiday season.
On Black Friday last year, the company offered 50 per cent off on select items like hiking socks and lower discounts on wearables, clothing, and backpacks.
REI, one of the 12 companies, to be named one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For every year since the inception of the list in 1998 is known for treating its employees well. REI was placed at No 58 in the list this year.
REI will pay its 12,000 employees to go out and play on Black Friday and is also encouraging other companies to join in what it describes as a stand against the commercial madness that had come to characterise the day after Thanksgiving, for at least a decade and a half.
According to commentators, it looked like REI was on-trend with a bold and expansive move, though the move might seem commercially disastrous.
