WSJ: More Retailers, Malls to Close on Thanksgiving to Save Black Friday

An increasing numbers or stores and malls have decided to remain closed this Thanksgiving Day in attempt to regain some of the allure of Black Friday, as the traditional retail feast has faded in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Friday after Thanksgiving had long served as the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season. But over the past several years, Thanksgiving has become the new tradition amid increasing competition from online retailers, the Associated Press explained.

The move has been controversial as many workers have complained that stores are putting their profits over workers' time with their families. The dynamics are changing now given a tighter labor market. And stores are also seeing that they're not getting a significant sales bump by opening an extra day over the holiday weekend since sales are being spread out throughout the week.

Highlighting a growing list of Nov. 24 closures are mall operator CBL & Associates Properties Inc., the Mall of America, electronics chain Hhgregg Inc. and Office Depot Inc.

It's official. Enjoy that extra slice of pie :) pic.twitter.com/c2R97KVcjb
— Mall of America (@mallofamerica) October 5, 2016

"[So far] it's been confirmed that [45] stores that will be closing on Thanksgiving, including some big retailers like Staples, Lowe's, Home Depot, Nordstrom, and REI," said Brent Shelton, online shopping expert at FatWallet, told NBC News. "We expect about a dozen more to follow suit," Shelton said.

The big question is what major anchors like Macy's and Kohl's will do this holiday season. Many of them have not revealed their plans for the Thanksgiving weekend.

Office Depot decided to close its stores for Thanksgiving, after three years of being open on the turkey feast, the AP reported.

The Boca Raton, Florida-based office supplies chain recently said it reached the decision after weighing both business and personal factors.

"As we evaluated our store hours for this holiday and weighed the business and personal considerations, we decided it was best to provide our associates with the day off to spend time with family and friends," said Troy Rice, chief operating officer of North America for Office Depot in a statement.

Chattanooga, Tennessee–based mall operator CBL said it will be closing 72 of its 89 shopping centers for Thanksgiving. However, department stores, movie theaters, restaurants and retailers with exterior mall entrances will have the option to open their stores on Thanksgiving.

Malls that will close include Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, Kan., and Hamilton Place in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The closings will allow about 1,500 mall employees and between 750 and 2,000 retail workers per property to celebrate the holiday.

"We think that for our employees and for the store employees, they deserve the day off and to be able to spend the day with their families," CBL CEO Stephen Lebovitz told CNBC in an exclusive interview. "Thanksgiving is a special holiday, and it's unfair for them not to be able to enjoy it like everyone else can."

CBL announces its portfolio of shopping centers will be closed on Thanksgiving. Read the article at @CNBC: https://t.co/7Lx2b0FIhg
— CBL Properties (@cblmalls) October 12, 2016

Indianapolis-based chain hhgregg, with 220 stores in 19 states, says it's important for its associates to be home with their families on Thanksgiving. But the retailer also says it makes good business sense too as it's not getting a huge spike for that day. It noted that its online site will continue to offer lots of deals on Thanksgiving. It will re-open at 7 a.m. on the Friday after the turkey feast.

"It's gotten consistently tougher for our employees," Bob Riesbeck, president and CEO of hhgregg, told the AP. "We felt there was a way to do this without opening on Thanksgiving."

Just announced: hhgregg will be #ClosedOnThanksgiving to give the holiday back to our employees and shoppers: https://t.co/ch1fm90lSl pic.twitter.com/I27nu2QuWb
— hhgregg (@hhgregg) October 11, 2016

Riesbeck also told the AP that he's been spending a lot of time in the local markets and talking to store managers, and he believes that the chain can do "exceedingly well" during Thanksgiving week without opening on the holiday. He noted that Black Friday sales have spread out earlier and earlier into the week and he says that hhgregg's Thanksgiving business has actually declined over the last two years. Black Friday remains its biggest sales day, he noted.

"It's time to stop the madness," Riesbeck said.

Highlighting the retailers that won't be open, according to NBC News: