There comes this time of year again, when we will have to be strong so as not to weaken while the big retailers continue to fill their pockets, on the backs of the uninformed consumers. These same consumers who will see the right opportunity rather than a marketing invention that ruins the lives of small brands and local businesses that are trying to do things consciously to make this world a little better. Yes, it’s a bit of a yell, but sometimes it’s necessary to make as many people as possible understand the consequences and issues of this black day for us.
But as after all, the creative solution comes to face this Black Friday (which this year, OH chance, falls on our birthday – 3 years -). It has been 2 years since we transformed this day into Transparent Friday. One day, when even more than the others, we try to raise awareness about what is really behind every euro you spend. Because YES, with us, everything is transparent. Zero opacity, OUT THE BLACK!
We imagine that some of you who read us have already asked yourselves the question. If you have chosen our brand, it is because you are already at least in a sustainable development approach, buying quality (rather than quantity) and also local (or at least not big brands). That said, a review of its history and drift may give you even better reasons to continue in your approach, and perhaps even by talking about this article around you, you can convince those around you. As we like to say, it is the small drops of water that makes large rivers.
Black Friday (sometimes translated as Mad Friday) comes from the United States, it must be admitted that it is the nation of origin of overconsumption. It traditionally takes place the day after Thanksgiving, and is held on the 4th Thursday in November each year. In the United States, sales periods are not regulated as in Europe and Black Friday has marked the beginning of the Christmas gift buying period since the 1970s.
The origin of the term remains vague, and there are several urban legends. In the middle of the 20th century, employees in the United States had this Friday off, which caused human tides in the shopping streets and a lot of traffic jams. The police used the term “Black Friday” to refer to their overtime hours during the weekend, so the term had a negative connotation at the time. Other sources mention that in the 1960s, Black Friday referred to customers and for traders in the early days of good business where stores sold more than usual and went “out of red” by writing good sales figures in black ink. Hence the expression of Black Friday.
It is in 2013 that Black Friday arrives in Europe. Promotions (ranging from one day to a whole weekend) start at this time, with a real sales boom since 2016.
But why?
The American giants, of which Amazon is the ambassador, have understood the power of Black Friday for multinationals. Since it is a targeted, cultural and temporary promotion; it allows action to be taken in all countries, going beyond local legislation and above all by destroying local competition.
In the United States, Black Friday usually takes place on a single day in stores, on Friday. And, after the same weekend, there is Cyber Monday, with similar actions on online sales sites. In Europe, the phenomenon is drifting into “Cyber Week” with very important promotions for 4 days from Friday from Black Friday to Monday from Cyber Monday.
The first question to ask yourself, is probably, how is it possible to have such low prices and promotions for a few days (a little before and a little after Black Friday)? Undoubtedly, because some retailers sell too expensive all year round, sometimes even inflate their prices a few weeks beforehand, to make their customers feel like they have discounts to buy. And these same big companies will always favour profit by trying to reduce their production costs, personnel costs, etc. If they do it, it’s because they find an advantage… No one can sell at a loss.
Joining Black Friday is therefore ultimately adhering to a mass consumption pattern, often not very ethical, and certainly even if it is beneficial these days for the consumer and his portfolio, there is somewhere, in a certain way, someone else who pays this compensation…
YES of course, it must be realized that for retailers, shops and small brands, end-of-year sales can sometimes represent a significant part of annual turnover. This in some cases strongly compensates for the possible “losses” of the classic months of the year.
So selling at this time of year with significant discounts, to be competitive with the Black Friday discounts of the trading giants, is like cutting a lot of margin to offset the costs of a whole year and, in some cases, just to survive.
And unfortunately, the big multinational chains have understood this well. Bringing Black Friday to Europe and developing it is the best weapon of these big groups to kill local businesses, traditional shops and all the small brands that try to differentiate themselves other than through lower prices. And it works!
Far too many consumers cannot resist over-consuming when prices are low. As a result, far too many shops and small brands are following in the footsteps of large groups to avoid losing a significant part of their turnover. All this at the risk of leaving their profit margin there and in some cases not even generating enough margin to pay the fixed costs.
At Kalani, we promote responsible consumption, and we do not want to sell you products you do not need, nor at times when you do not need them. This is why we have decided to apply a policy of a fair price on average 50% cheaper than similar qualities sold in traditional shops because our mission is to make high-end and sustainable (organic/Fairtrade/Vegan) home linen, affordable and accessible to a majority of people. And for that, we don’t invent marketing tricks, we just sell directly products that we have directly produced without any intermediary.
We are anti-Black Friday because one of Kalani’s main commitments since 2016 is to be transparent about its prices and to sell at fair prices all year round. We sometimes make a small discount code to please you, but never big promotions, no sales, no Black Friday, no Cyber Monday,… because we do not overproduce, we develop timeless products and we are convinced that a fair price policy is necessary and the only way to be respectful.
Since 2017, we have been proud to promote TRANSPARENT FRIDAY. Our commitment is to sell at fair prices for all (customers, organic and fair trade cotton producers, production workers, brand) and fair prices all year round. You will find an explanation of the price transparency system on our website.
NWe also welcome the other actions of the Green Friday type, even if all the brands that adhere to it are not consistent with their overall approach (non-organic products, non-durable products, copying business models, etc.), but their adherence to this movement has at least the merit of being fair.
