Outdoors store closes on Black Friday so staff can volunteer at homeless shelter
Wilderness Supply passes on profitable shopping day, sends workers to lend helping hand at Main Street Project
Black Friday presents a huge opportunity for retailers to lure in droves of shoppers looking to spend — so why did one Winnipeg store close its doors on such a potentially profitable day?
"We brought our team together to volunteer for the day and to just give a helping hand to the Main Street Project," Garrett Trembley, manager of Wilderness Supply, told CBC Radio Noon host Nelly Gonzalez.
The outdoors store on Isabel Street closed shop Friday and left a voice mail for anyone confused enough to call and ask why. That message, along with one posted on Facebook, explains staff would be volunteering at the Main Street Project for the day rather than pointing customers to deals.
Six Wilderness Supply staff spent the day sorting clothing and other donated items that will land in the hands of those who need them most.
Trembley said staff members were excited to volunteer their time for a good cause.
"The whole Black Friday thing is, from our perspective, is just this big commercialization day. It's kind of centred around spending on things you may not necessarily need," Trembley said.
As a Winnipeg-based company, the store isn't constrained by some of the corporate rules that would make closing down on such a big day be seem implausible, Trembley said.
The store philosophy is focused on getting quality items to shoppers who are in the market for them, regardless of the consumer-driven day of deals.
"The whole big sale day doesn't really resonate with us," he said.
Since the store's recent move to the inner city, staff have started to get to know their neighbours and notice some in the area are struggling to get by, Trembley said. That influenced the decision to volunteer at the shelter.
"We thought we'd just kind of give back and being here actually feels really good," he said.
"You get a perspective on the things that people really need and a lot of things that people just take for granted and throw away, but these donations really matter."
Store management is already considering repeating the day of good deeds next year when Black Friday rolls around again. He encourages other local businesses to consider how they, too, might shy away from the trend and do a good deed.
"Do something a little different," he said.