REI First Retailer to Eschew Black Friday Hours

On its website, outdoor and fitness gear consumer co-op REI is urging its 5.5 million members to get outside, rather than shop for holiday bargains on Black Friday. (Screenshot via REI)

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Outdoor and fitness gear retailer REI said Monday it’s closing its 143 U.S. stores — including three in Michigan — on both Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, bucking a trend by retailers to open earlier and earlier to grab a share of holiday spending.

“We think that Black Friday has gotten out of hand,” Jerry Stritzke, CEO, of the chain told CNN Money.

The store’s 12,000 full- and part-time workers will get both days off with pay, Stritzke said.

Black Friday has typically been one of the 10 busiest sales days for REI and the company will take a hit in fourth-quarter sales, but Stritzke said bringing new members to the 5.5 million-member consumer co-op is a higher priority than competing with other retailers for bargain hunters.

“When you close...on one of the busiest days of the year, it’s going to cost you money,” Stritzke told CNN.

The company’s not trying to make up for the losses by steering customers to the website, where about 20 percent of REI’s sales are made. The website won’t be dark, but shoppers will be encouraged to explore the outdoors instead of poking around on the Internet during the traditional family weekend.

“This business centers [on] the outdoors,” Stritzke said. “Thus, we can do something like close our doors on Black Friday, and we’ll have the membership that’ll think that’s cool.”

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