As a marketer, I've never quite been able to get my head around Black Friday.
This is supposedly the day that most retailers finally make it into the "black" or profitability.
First of all, if you have a Brand – any Brand – that traditionally doesn't make a profit until 11 months into a calendar year, then there is something seriously wrong with your market offering, value proposition and more.
Why anyone would invest in that business model makes no sense to me.
Secondly, to totally prostitute your Brand for a few hours of one morning for one day offering ridiculous loss leaders which bastardizes your Brand, taxes your employees and has now turned deadly as it did for a Walmart in Long Island, should send you a clear message that you need to step back and re-evaluate things.
On a personal level, it saddens me to think about the state of people's greed and reckless consumption habits during a special time we should be giving thanks. In fact, the only thing we should be spending is our time with family, friends and those less fortunate than ourselves.
