Black Friday or Black Thursday?

For as long as I can remember, the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) has always been the day that I avoid going to the mall to stay away from the chaos of thousands of people running through the stores to find the best deals for the holiday season. I personally feel that Thanksgiving should be a relaxing time where you spend time with your family and eat as much as you possibly can. However, there are many people who spend Thanksgiving cutting out coupons and planning their route around the mall. While there are two different kinds of people who view Black Friday in different ways, theres retailers who support Black Friday and who do not support Black Friday. In recent years, stores have been opening earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving Day. It seems that it is no longer considered Black Friday, but Black Thursday instead.

An article from The New York Times titled "Some Retailers Promote Decision to Remain Closed on Thanksgiving", provides the different views that the leaders of these companies have on this issue. This issue has been known as the open-versus-shut debate. The retailers believe that they will be open on Thanksgiving Day to please their customers, or they will remain closed to promote the importance of the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Retailers that will be open on Thanksgiving Day include: Walmart, Kmart, Macy's, Target, and Radio Shack. Retailers choosing to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day include: Costco, Marshalls, Gamestop, TJ Maxx, Barnes and Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond, Burlington Coat Factory, Nordstrom, Crate and Barrel, Patagonia, Dillards, and more.

Richard Galanti, the vice president and CFO of Costco says, “It’s an important holiday in the U.S., and our employees work hard during the holiday season, and we believe they deserve the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving Day with their family and friends. We’ve never opened on Thanksgiving, and when the trend to do so occurred in the last couple or three years, we chose not to because we thought it was the right thing to do for our employees.” Other retailers don't have the same opinion on this issue as Richard. A mall near Buffalo, NY is planning on charging retailers $200 per hour if they don't open by 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

There is even a petition on change.org with over 55,000 signatures supporting Target to remain closed on Thanksgiving Day and a Facebook page titled Boycott Black Thursday with over 87,000 likes. Would you sign the petition? What is more important to businesses, spending time with your family or increasing profits and sales by opening on Thanksgiving Day? 


Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/business/some-retailers-are-promoting-their-decision-to-remain-closed-on-thanksgiving.html?_r=0