REI (Kent, Wash.) has announced that, in addition to closing its stores for Thanksgiving Day, it will also keep its stores closed on Black Friday. This is the second year in a row that the retailer has closed on Black Friday.
In addition, the retailer will not process any sales through its website on Black Friday and it will pay all of its employees to take the day off. Instead, the retailer wants its customers and employees to spend the day outside.
Last year’s move to close on Black Friday encouraged the retailer to repeat it this year. The retailer saw applications for employment increase 100 percent in the 30 days after Black Friday.
“That’s a pretty tangible way of telling us that the idea was very well received,” said REI’s CEO, Jerry Stritzke, according to The Huffington Post.