REI to shut on Black Friday to have employees go outside

For those who don&#x27;t know, this fits really well into everything REI stands for. They are a Coop where you can join and as a shareholder a customer can make back a percentage of what they purchase. Both them, the products by vendors sold in their store and their competitors (LLBean, Patagonia) pride themselves on reuse by offering many loose warranties, these are often lifetime warranties.<p>As someone whose father worked retail for 30 years, and working several Black Fridays myself, I can&#x27;t say I wasn&#x27;t moved.

Good for them. I&#x27;m old enough so that I&#x27;ve been to enough Black Friday sales that I know nothing but shit is offered. I don&#x27;t even leave the house on Black Friday simply because it&#x27;s such a pain to go anywhere. I&#x27;d rather pay extra and avoid the lines, so good on REI for hopefully starting a trend that rolls back Black Friday a little.

My first thought was to figure out the strategy to improve earnings here. It wasn&#x27;t until a few minutes later that it hit me, there <i>isn&#x27;t</i> one (gasp).<p>And then it occurred to me that, isn&#x27;t it weird that we live in a world where this is almost unthinkable? Running a business like it&#x27;s just something you want to do? Just...weird.

At some point the Black Friday arms race becomes so insane the only move left is to quit. REI is too cool for this bullshit anyway.

Dear REI,<p>When I need something &quot;outdoor-sy&quot;, I come to your store. The staff can always answer my questions, they do it wirh respect and passion. You are a little more expensive than ordering online, but I pay the extra money for the detailed service I always receive.<p>I applaud closing on Black Friday and having the employees go outside. I mean, you sell outdoor gear, this lets your employees get a no stress day to enjoy what they sell. This gesture and demonstration of your core beliefs will continue my dedication to shop at your locations.<p>Thank You,<p>A Customer.

“The owner, the employees, and the buying public are all one and the same, and unless an industry can so manage itself as to keep wages high and prices low it destroys itself, for otherwise it limits the number of its customers. One’s own employees ought to be one’s own best customers.”<p>-- Henry Ford

Maybe Black Friday is developing the GroupOn problem.<p>It&#x27;s a great way to lose money on the worst customers that will never come back anyway.

When I was in retail I loved working Black Friday - the day went by fast, and you could usually snag overtime.

Dear AppleStore, I dare you.

In case anyone at REI corporate is reading;<p>I applaud this move and will likely be getting a membership as a result.

What an excellent way to get and retain quality employees. Too bad REI can&#x27;t suck all the good workers out of Walmart.

It would be funny if REI employees ended up going outside to camp at electronic and department stores as a result...<p>It&#x27;d be nice to see their employees sharing stories as a result.<p>p.s check out <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.hipcamp.com" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.hipcamp.com</a>

Enjoy the outdoors.. in late November?

Seems like a genuinely cool move and good business at the same time. Good for them.

Won&#x27;t they all just go shopping?

They&#x27;re a co-op and can&#x27;t afford to discount on Black Friday. Seems fairly straightforward.

REI changed their return policy from effectively &quot;forever&quot; to one year. Sounds like perhaps that move gives them the freedom to pay all their employees for a day during their slow season.

Will their website not be taking orders as well? I love REI, but this is a pretty transparent marketing ploy.<p>Also relevant:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Buy_Nothing_Day" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Buy_Nothing_Day</a>