Black Friday:
Austin’s TreeHouse bucking trend, citing value of family life.
A few local stores are bucking the trend and staying closed on the major shopping day after Thanksgiving.
Austin-based TreeHouse won’t be open on Black Friday this year, the eco-friendly home improvement store said Wednesday.
This will be the third year TreeHouse has closed on Black Friday, traditionally one of the busiest — and most profitable — days of the year for U.S. retailers. Employees will still be paid even though they have the day off, the company said.
This year, other businesses are following TreeHouse’s lead, including outdoors retailer REI.
“Having a healthy home goes beyond construction and materials,” TreeHouse President Jason Ballard said in a written statement. “A healthy home is one where you get to spend plenty of time with family and friends. Thanksgiving weekend is the opportune time for this kind of healthfulness, and TreeHouse has no desire to interrupt it.”
Despite being closed on Black Friday, Ballard said TreeHouse still anticipates having a strong holiday season, with 2015 shaping up to be the retailer’s most successful year to
date.
Four-year-old TreeHouse, which has a single store at 4477 S. Lamar Blvd. in South Austin, said in April it’s gearing up to expand, with plans to add locations in other cities. Possibilities include elsewhere in Texas, plus cities in California, Colorado and the Pacific Northwest, executives have said.
While TreeHouse and REI are closing on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, plenty of other retailers are planning to be open — some earlier than ever before.
Electronics chain Best Buy said this week that it plans to open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving, with discount retailer Target deciding to welcome shoppers beginning at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.