Northland Shoppers Applaud Stores for Staying Closed Thanksgiving Day

DULUTH, Minn. - The turkey isn't even in the oven yet, and stores are already gearing up for the biggest sale of the year. Holiday shoppers in the Northland are applauding big box stores choosing to be closed on Thanksgiving Day."It seems sort of unfair that you expect retail people to be here so somebody can save 50 cents on a pair of shoes," said Daniel Glinski of Proctor. Trends show stores are opening earlier and earlier and this year big time corporate companies are taking a stand and locking the doors until it's officially Black Friday. As Black Friday deals bleed into Thanksgiving evening, there are a handful of stores that are choosing to go against the grain and go dark when the rest of the mall is open."Thanksgiving day itself, everything should be closed," Gilinski said. Stores at the Miller Hill Mall will open at 6:00 p.m. Thursday night, but experts say the earlier the sale does not mean more money in the door."The vast majority of consumers aren't shopping on Thanksgiving Day,” explained the director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Monica Haynes. “The stores are just catering to the small percentage of shoppers that really care about the value deals." She says for most shoppers sacrificing time with family to fight the crowd and save a few bucks isn't worth the hastle."I understand that businesses need to sell as much as they can to stay in business,” Gilinski said. “I personally think they should be closed on Thanksgiving.""I think 6:00 is an okay time,” said Dina Flaharty of Duluth. “As long as they don't take up the whole day." There are three stores in the Miller Hill Mall that will be closed Thanksgiving night when the rest of the mall is open. For DSW Shoe Warehouse, family comes first. In a statement, DSW CEO Michael MacDonald said, "This holiday season, you’ve probably seen or read about all the retailers opening their doors as early as 6:00 p.m. Thanksgiving day. We have decided not to follow that trend. Instead, we believe family comes first and you should be at home celebrating with them on this special holiday. This means none of our stores will be open on Thanksgiving Day. In addition, no stores will be open before 7:00 a.m. on Black Friday.” Barnes & Noble, Inc. states, "We want our booksellers to have the opportunity to enjoy what is a family holiday." GameStop agrees with DSW and Barnes & Noble, Inc. stating, "At GameStop we often use the phrase ‘protect the family’ in reference to our business. A large part of what that means to us is to not open any of our GameStop, SimplyMac, Spring Mobile or Cricket Wireless U.S. locations on Thanksgiving Day out of respect for our store associates and their families and friends. We believe it’s the right decision not only for our employees, but also for our customers. Enjoy this time with your loved ones and we’ll see you on Black Friday.” Experts say the statement stores are making by being closed on Thanksgiving day when the rest of the mall is open is greater than any sale they'll have this holiday season. Thursday, Miller Hill Mall will be open from 6:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. They plan to reopen at 6:00 a.m. for those big door buster sales Friday morning.