REI is closing on Black Friday, paying staff to take day off and #OptOutside

Nothing against REI per se. They are just another corporation selling goods and they now have a slick marketing campaign. For our dispersed car camping, the HooDoo3 from REI Outlet has proven to be a great and solid bargain for the wife and I. An excellent deal and a very well designed shelter. REI sells good quality "bread and butter" gear. Their Flash series is a good lightweight pack for example. I just don't think the #optoutside is anything special (other than a very good, well thought out and apparently effective marketing campaign), personally, as I suspect most of REI's consumer base does their shopping online in a large part. For those who enjoy the B&M experience, a Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving is just fine. Win all around. Kudos to the CEO and the marketing team. Of course, this is just the equivalent of shooting the bull around a campfire. I don't think anyone is taking this TOO seriously? :)

I personally feel this is more a situation of REI "being the change they wish to see", than some marketing ploy. The real question is…what do you think of the new Starbucks cup!!! ……..

My mother sent me cookies recently. Naturally I wondered what her real motives were…cynical mother marketing, no doubt. I work for an independent bookstore–well, actually we have three stores. There just isn't the money in this business that would allow all of us employees to become middle class home owners here in the Bay Area.Paying those sort of wages would bankrupt the store very quickly. My guess is that REI, which faces the same sort of on-line competition that bookstores do, isn't rolling in money that all goes to a few at the top. If REI raised prices in order to boost payroll, I'm sure the same people that are grousing about the "cynical" 'take a day off with pay' day would then scream bloody murder about how REI rips off customers. Oh wait, they do already!

Those cynical ad people who study this stuff for a living.. ;)

Might rain…