Black Friday… why we don’t do it

Black Friday; the day after Thanksgiving… that is Thanksgiving in the USA not the UK. American retailers offer huge discounts on Black Friday to entice their holidaying compatriots to raise from their turkey induced slumber and part with cash.

In recent years Black Friday has crept into the retail consciousness over here. In 2014 we all saw some rather crazy scenes in UK retailers with hundreds of people squabbling over discounted electrical goods & furniture; what are we going to witness this year?

At George Fisher we don’t do Black Friday.

Partly because it’s not a British tradition and partly because it doesn’t fit with our business ethos.

Why should we get involved with a post-Thanksgiving holiday bash when we don’t do Thanksgiving?

However the main reason we don’t get involved in this discount-powered extravaganza is that we don’t believe jettisoning perfectly good stock way before our winter has even started is a sensible use of our resources. We strive to range the best selection of clothing & equipment appropriate for our customers’ expectation – functional kit that is designed to help them enjoy their chosen outdoor adventures.

Getting to match the right products with the right people for their specific end needs takes a bit of time and a lot of knowledge. Selling great winter products at a reduced margin before winter has even started means we can’t generate enough cash to employ the experienced people our customers expect to talk to on our shopfloor. It just doesn’t make sense for us.

We aim to meet or over-deliver our customers’ expectation – a frenzied discount driven rush doesn’t help us to achieve that…so we don’t get involved.

Interestingly enough one of North America’s leading outdoor retailer is also side-stepping Black Friday, REI has announced that it will close all 143 stores and its online processing for Black Friday. Instead it wants its employees & customers to spend the day after Thanksgiving outdoors! They are promoting their initiative under #OptOutisde.

We applaud REI’s stance and would encourage our customers and friends not only to ignore Black Friday but get active and spend time outdoors instead!

If you are in our store on Black Friday we would like to help you relax whilst you avoid the retail mayhem – visit Abraham’s café, mention you’ve seen this article and we’ll stand you a cup of tea or coffee for free (…and it doesn’t have to be black!)