The Black Friday shopping festival is coming again. An opportunity for many stores to achieve additional turnover at the end of the year. Not for Gijs de Bruijn. His electronics store, Electro World Wim van den Broek in Boekel, will remain closed on Friday, November 24. “It was a day, then a week and now it’s a whole month. It’s unbearable.”
He came up with the idea after seeing the first Black Friday commercials on TV. “It all has to be more sustainable and economical. What are we doing on such a shopping day?” De Bruijn has been working in the business for thirteen years and was able to take over the business four years ago from the old owner Wim van den Broek, after whom the store is named. “I left it that way, because that name is a household name in the region.”
But an electronics store owner wants to sell as much as possible, right? “Of course I want to sell, but all year round and at fair prices,” says De Bruijn decisively. “Black Friday came over from the US to sell the old stuff, sorry, the old stock. We don’t have any old stock at all.” There are offers, but they are centrally arranged by Electro World, the 35-year-old owner explains.
“They want a bargain and a front row seat for pennies.”
“You see what happened to the BCC.” The competitor was declared bankrupt last month. “I just want fair prices: rents and wages have been increased, so I can’t start dumping.” Twenty employees work at the store in Boekel and De Bruijn wants his store to ‘still exist in ten to fifteen years’.
In addition, the shopping frenzy puts a lot of pressure on the staff. “The people who come here for the bargains also want to sit in the front row for a dime. They want the total service, that it is connected, you name it.” That also takes a lot of work in the following weeks. “This means we have less time for our real customers. It is normally nice and village-like here.”
“There are colleagues who want to join next year.”
De Bruijn also participated in Black Friday every year, but ‘it has gotten out of control now,’ he thinks. “At first it was just Friday, that turned into a whole week, then Cyber Monday was added and now it’s the whole month. It’s no longer possible.” According to De Bruijn, he has already received many positive responses from staff, customers and suppliers. “We also receive a lot of responses online. I have also spoken to colleagues from other locations and they thought it was a good idea and want to join next year.”
The store is therefore closed on November 24. It promises to be a fun day for the staff, because they are all going out together. “We are going to have lunch and a fun day activity, but I cannot reveal the location and the outing. That is still a secret.”
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