REI is already one of the most Bro stores on the planet — Where else can you get a sick deal on a Patagonia fleece, a new pair of K2 skis, some new Smartwool, and a GoPro with various mounts in a single shopping trip? Exactly. REI is like the only place I shop.
You really have to applaud the retailer’s latest move on the biggest shopping day of the year, Black Friday. Rather than force all its workers to leave their families at 10PM on Thanksgiving Thursday with bellies full of turkey, REI wants all its workers to take the day off and do something dope outside. Ride a bike. Go for a hike in those new Merrell you bought with your employee discount. Find a mountain with snow on it and shred first tracks. Kayak. Fish. Scout your tree stand. Whatever. Just do ANYTHING except be stuck inside in a shopping mall fighting over flatscreen TV deals. Via USA Today:
n an unprecedented move for the modern-day holiday shopping season, REI’s 143 stores will be closed the day after Thanksgiving. The co-op business plans to launch a campaign Tuesday encouraging people to forgo shopping to spend time outside instead. With the hashtag #OptOutside, REI will ask people to share what they’re doing on Black Friday on social media.
REI is taking direct aim at the frenzied consumerism that dominates the holidays with a message to do the exact opposite of what Black Friday demands.
“Any retailer that hears this will be startled by the idea,” says REI President and CEO Jerry Stritzke, who admits he was apprehensive about closing at first. “As a co-op … we define success a little differently. It’s much broader than just money. How effectively do we get people outside?”
Close to 90 MILLION people went shopping on Black Friday last year, according to USA Today, so it’s a pretty bold business strategy to shut down the store and suspend online operations. But then again, the message it sends about what REI values most is loud and clear:
“Black Friday historically is the most important retail day of the year,” he says. “It’s like a national holiday.”
REI is hoping to convince consumers to start a new Black Friday tradition, one that doesn’t involve buying anything. It has built a dedicated #OptOutside website with resources on local hiking trails. REI’s campaign was built with its employees and customers in mind — the company operates as a co-op, with roughly 5.5 million members who pay a one-time fee for a share of the business. Members contribute to at least 80% of REI’s sales.
REI will have no Black Friday promotions and won’t process any online orders until Saturday. Just a small handful of its approximately 12,000 employees will be on call, while the rest get a paid day off.
Bro move, REI. That sick pair of Rossignols will still be on sale come Thanksgiving Weekend Saturday, Bros. And you aren’t going to use them to Martin Luther King Day anyway.