Why ever more retailers ditch Black Friday

More and more retailers are abandoning Black Friday, opting for a more sustainable alternative or taking the opportunity to launch an event with a social impact.

‘Back’ Friday

Sports equipment retailer Decathlon has dropped an ‘L’ this year, turning Black Friday into ‘Back Friday’. From 25 to 28 November, its Belgian branch will focus on the reuse and recycling. “While the current consumption pattern is mainly focused on short-term use and buying a new product instead of restoring the old one, we want to stimulate the reuse of products, as we do with our ‘Second Life’ initiative,” says Arnaud De Coster, head of Second Life Retail.

During the four days, customers will be able to exchange old sports equipment for vouchers and points on their loyalty card. The returned products are repaired and then resold at discount prices; items that are really unusable are sent to a recycling centre.

Free meals

Kiabi also ignores Black Friday, but the fashion chain chooses to organise various solidarity actions instead. In Belgium, Kiabi supports Resto du Cœur, an organisation that aims to fight poverty through the distribution of hot meals. On Friday 26 and Saturday 27 November, the fashion brand will donate 0.5 euros per order to the charity, hoping to be able to donate at least a thousand meals to Belgian families in need.

“With this campaign, we want to give Black Friday a different meaning, one that fits in with our Kiabi Life program of corporate social responsibility. With Good Friday, we link two good things: we offer budget-friendly quality fashion and we involve our customers in a solidarity campaign”, Doriane Magnus, Leader Marketing at Kiabi Belgium, explains.

Repairs

Choosing the path of sustainability, Belgian fashion label Xandres announced that it would not participate in the discount festival. Instead, the brand offers free repairs during Black Friday.