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SALT LAKE CITY -- An online petition to curb American consumerism has become a potential public relations issue for one retailer.
Target Corp. employee Anthony Hardwick launched a change.org petition last week to protest the company's opening at midnight Thanksgiving Day instead of last year's 4 a.m. Black Friday.
"A midnight opening robs the hourly and in-store salary workers of time off with their families on Thanksgiving Day," the petition reads in part.
The petition had garnered more than 159,000 signatures as of 2 p.m. Thursday, up from 50,000 Monday night.
The retailer made the move to midnight due to the requests of guests, according to Target Spokeswoman Molly Snyder.
"We have heard from our guests that they want to shop Target following their Thanksgiving celebrations rather than only having the option of getting up in the middle of the night," Snyder said. "By opening at midnight, we are making it easier than ever to deliver on our guests wants and needs."
I haven't talked to a single person, employee or guest, who has been disappointed by the change.
–Ryan Holdaway
The day after Thanksgiving, termed Black Friday due to its influence on many retailers' solvency, has been the busiest shopping day of the year since at least 2005. As retailers have had to compete for an ever-shrinking piece of shoppers' holiday pie, they have steadily moved store- openings closer to midnight than ever before.
Holiday spending is expected to rise just 2.8 percent in 2011 -- about half of last years' growth rate. In an effort to capture just a fraction of the increasingly humble pie, companies such as Target, Macy's Inc. and Gap Inc. are engaging in a competition to see which store can open earliest.
Some consumers, including Hardwick, feel the increasingly early hours are taking away from the Thanksgiving experience.
"I don't necessarily think Thanksgiving is being overtaken by Black Friday, but I definitely think people are getting overwhelmed," said Josh Ochoa, of Salt Lake City.
Despite the public outcry, some local stores are saying the idea has been a success.
"I haven't talked to a single person, employee or guest, who has been disappointed by the change," said Ryan Holdaway, a manager at the Orem Supertarget. "Everyone's been excited about the change."
#poll
Michelle Mullins, a manager at the South Jordan store, said she had noticed the same response.
"Our team members are really excited," she said. "No one has complained -- it's our favorite day to work."
Managers at the other ten Target stores in the state declined to comment to KSL, in some cases stating they had been instructed by Target headquarters not to speak to media, "since this is the first time something like this has happened."
"It's a new thing and there's a whole lot of competition," said one manager who wished to remain anonymous due to the company's restrictions. "I haven't heard either way what people think about it, though."
Some were ambivalent due to conflicting stories told by Hardwick and Target. Hardwick was never scheduled to work Black Friday because he was scheduled to work a shift at a second job that morning, Snyder said. She added that Target "honored that request" and works to accommodate the requests of all employees, offering holiday pay to those who work Thanksgiving Day.
Change.org spokeswoman Charlotte Hill said Hardwick had, in fact, been scheduled to work the late-night shift.
- Toys "R" Us: 9 p.m.
- Walmart: 10 p.m.
- Target: 12 a.m.
- Best Buy: 12 a.m.
- Macy's: 12 a.m.
- Kohl's: 12 a.m.
"It is our understanding that Anthony was directly asked by his supervisor to report for a night shift beginning at 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving," she said. "If the management of Target has decided to switch the schedules, they have yet to inform Anthony of the change."
Hill said change.org believes the campaign has been a success. More than 60 similar petitions have sprung up since Hardwick's went viral, including one started by Best Buy Co. Inc. employee Rick Melaragni that had almost 9,000 signatures by noon Thursday.
Tim Newman, a change.org senior organizer, said it has been amazing to watch the campaigns take off.
"Change.org is about empowering anyone, anywhere to demand action on the issues that matter to them," he said in a statement.
Target declined to comment on whether the success of the petition would have an impact on the store's Black Friday plans.
