REI To Close For Black Friday

In letter posted to REI’s main website, Jerry Stritzke, the company’s president and CEO said that employees at 143 stores around the country will be paid to “head outside” on the day after Thanksgiving. With the hashtag #OptOutside, REI will ask people to share what they’re doing on Black Friday on social media.

The email sent out by REI said, “Perhaps John Muir said it best back in 1901: ‘thousands of exhausted, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home.’ We think Black Friday is the flawless day to remind people of this essential truth”. Customers will be able to place orders, but its homepage will try to divert buyers with a “cover screen” encouraging them to explore the outdoors instead. The holiday shopping season is the biggest, and most competitive, time of year for retailers, with Black Friday at the center of the hoopla.

By shuttering for Black Friday, REI just might make up for a day of lost sales with a run of good publicity.

REI has announced it’s going in the opposite direction of other retailers this year: the outdoor and athletic supply store will close its doors on Black Friday, giving employees the day off with pay.

REI has also encouraged shoppers to enjoy the outdoors on Black Friday as well.

It is yet to be seen how industry experts react to this move taken by REI.