Last month, after sporting good retailer REI announced its decision to remain closed during Thanksgiving and Black Friday, we rounded up the numerous other retailers that were giving their employees the holiday off.
Since then, a number of new companies have joined the fray, and we thought we’d take a moment to put them in the spotlight—not just as a heads-up to Thanksgiving shoppers, but to prospective employees who don’t want to sacrifice time spent with their families and loved ones.
“I have not really seen or heard any negative backlash from folks [about stores] being closed on Thanksgiving,” Mike Griswold, a vice president at research firm Gartner, told Newsfactor. “I think what folks have started to realize is, ‘We can garner some goodwill. We aren’t necessarily going to take a huge hit financially by being closed on Thursday when we’re going to be open again on Friday.'”
According to a survey from the National Retail Federation, only 13% of Americans plan to shop on Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, stores including Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy will open in the evening or late afternoon. The trend of extending Black Friday hours to the day before (don’t call it Thanksgiving—call it Black Thursday) has inspired ire in some corners: A survey from RichRelevance a company that provides personalized shopping suggestions for major retailers, found that six in ten Americans “hate” or “dislike” the practice of staying open during Thanksgiving.
And meanwhile, we’re seeing more companies getting behind the idea of work-life balance for their workers. Last year, home improvement chain Menards took out a full-page newspaper ad explaining their decision to remain closed, while Costco released a statement on the same: “Our employees work especially hard during the holiday season and we simply believe that they deserve the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with their families. Nothing more complicated than that.”
Here’s who’ll be giving their workers the day off this Thanksgiving:
• American Girl
• A.C. Moore
• At Home
• Barnes & Noble
• Big 5
• BJ’s
• Burlington Coat Factory
• Cabela’s
• Costco
• Crate and Barrel
• Dillard’s
• DSW
• GameStop
• Half Price Books
• Harbor Freight
• H&M
• Hobby Lobby
• Home Depot
• Jo-Ann Stores
• Lowe’s
• Marshalls
• Mattress Firm
• Menards
• Neiman Marcus
• Nordstrom
• Patagonia
• P.C. Richard & Son
• Petco
• Petsmart
• Pier 1 Imports
• Publix
• Raymour & Flanigan
• REI
• Sam’s Club
• Sierra Trading Post
• Staples
• Sur La Table
• T.J.Maxx
• Tractor Supply Company
• True Value
• Von Maur
This piece was originally published on Monster.com.
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