Wanting shoppers to spend time outside instead, REI won't open any stores on Black Friday

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

last updated 27 October 2015

Don't go looking for incredible deals at REI on Black Friday — none of the company's 143 stores across the United States will be open.

The outdoor and sporting goods retailer instead wants customers to take a hike, literally. Using the hashtag #OptOutside, REI is asking people to post on social media how they plan to spend Black Friday outdoors instead of inside a mall. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and the symbolic start of the holiday shopping season. The National Retail Federation says in 2014, 86.9 million people shopped on Black Friday, and previously it's been one of REI's top 10 sales days. Even though it's a risk to be closed, REI President and CEO Jerry Stritzke told USA Today it's worth a shot. "Any retailer that hears this will be startled by the idea," he said. "As a co-op...we define success a little differently. It's much broader than just money. How effectively do we get people outside?"

REI has about 5.5 million members who pay a one-time fee and own a share of the business; they are also responsible for at least 80 percent of the company's sales. They're welcome to shop online during Black Friday, but their orders won't go through until Saturday, and there won't be any special promotions. All of REI's 12,000 employees, with the exception of just a few people on call, will receive a paid day off — for some, it will be the first time in years they haven't had to work on the big day. "The thing that is powerful to me is this clearly is not a financially self-serving act," Stritzke said. "It's an act where we're really making a very clear statement about a set of values."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.