Costco Attempts to Start a New Trend By Staying Closed on Thanksgiving

The huge department store Costco is going against the grain this year. Instead of opening early on Friday morning for Black Friday or even staying open all day on Thanksgiving like most stores, they have decided to remain closed all day on Thanksgiving in order to let their employees enjoy some family time.

Paul Latham, Costco's vice president for membership and marketing, told the Huffington Post, "Our employees work especially hard during the holiday season, and we simply believe that they deserve the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with their families. Nothing more complicated than that."

Other big retailers like Target and Walmart have had to deal with negative press year after year from the public for staying open all day on Thanksgiving. Stores like Kmart even pushed their opening time forward on Thanksgiving this year to 6 AM. Many people think that the corporate greed from the huge retailers is ruining the holiday not just for the employees that have to work, but for the public in general.

Shanelle Armstrong from the Kmart marketing department tried to explain to the Huffington Post why the store had to remain open. She said, "Kmart has been a destination for early-bird shopping and last-minute entertaining needs on Thanksgiving Day for 22 years. We staff with teams and seasonal associates when possible, giving them the opportunity to make extra money during the holiday."

Do you think that it is fair for stores like Target and Walmart to stay open, forcing their employees away from their families on the holiday? Let us know in the comments!