Episode Details

In 2015, REI did something no retailer had ever done: it closed all 143 of its stores on Black Friday and told employees to go outside instead. The campaign, called #OptOutside, cost the company an estimated $10–12 million in lost sales. But it also generated 1.4 billion media impressions and 2.6 million social media shares, and membership surged by 10 percent. This episode breaks down exactly why the gamble worked: the specific numbers, the strategic logic behind the timing, and how REI turned a one-day stunt into a permanent brand narrative. We also look at what happened in subsequent years — did the goodwill sustain? And what other brands can learn about taking a stand that's authentic versus one that feels like a gimmick.

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