Sears, Other Retailers Get Flack For Opening On Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in Los Angeles County will be marked today by traditional dinners with relatives, serving meals to the less fortunate and a record number of open stores.

For the first time since its founding in 1886, Sears will open its stores on Thanksgiving. The decision prompted radio talk show host Dennis Prager to ask his listeners to urge Sears to reverse its plans and “preserve Thanksgiving.”

A Facebook community was established requesting people “do whatever it takes to let Sears know that Thanksgiving is a special time for families to be together remembering all of their blessings, not clipping coupons and dozing in 4 a.m. mall lines.”

David Friedman, president of marketing of Sears Holdings, said “our decision to stay open on Thanksgiving was based on our customers’ response and desire to have an extra day to shop.”

“We are always listening to our customers to make their shopping experience easier and now, by being open on Thanksgiving, they can start their shopping early or pick up last-minute items needed for their Thanksgiving celebration,” Friedman said.

In an attempt to balance its commitment to meeting customer needs with its commitment to its employees, Sears decided to be open for limited hours on Thanksgiving, 7 a.m. to noon, and where practical, fill the schedules with employees who volunteered to work that day and seasonal associates, Friedman said.

Toys “R” Us is also opening for the first time on Thanksgiving. Its stores will open at 10 p.m. in an attempt to attract early Black Friday shoppers.

Kmart will continue its policy of being open on Thanksgiving, with stores open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The vast majority of Walmart stores will be open all day.

“A lot of people may get bored over Thanksgiving and some people may be very attracted to the idea that they can go shopping during the daytime on Thanksgiving and not having to get up as early the next day,” said Lars Perner, an assistant professor of clinical marketing at the USC Marshall School of Business.

“Retailers that do this are not going to be facing full competition so it makes a lot of sense for some retailers to offer that,” Perner told City News Service.

“On the other side of equation when the economy is weak there are probably a lot of employees who are very happy to get overtime, even if it means working on Thanksgiving.”

Several organizations will provide meals to the homeless and poor on Thanksgiving.

The Midnight Mission on Skid Row anticipates serving meals to 3,500 homeless and near-homeless men, women and children.

The Laugh Factory in West Hollywood will conduct its 32nd annual free Thanksgiving Feast for the underprivileged, homeless and anyone alone for the holiday.

“Spending the holidays alone is no laughing matter,” club owner Jamie Masada said. “We welcome anyone to take a seat at our table and celebrate with our family of comedians and friends.”

More than 1,000 people are expected for the 10th annual Temple Beth Hillel Thanksgiving Day Feed the Hungry Dinner in Valley Village.

To Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Thanksgiving “is a time when Angelenos and Americans across the country join together at the table to give thanks to those whose dreams planted the seeds of our prosperity and remember those who are struggling.”

“We cannot forget the 73,000 families, children and veterans in Los Angeles who call an overpass, a doorway or a shelter home,” Villaraigosa said.

Villaraigosa encouraged “all Angelenos to volunteer their time during the holiday season.”

“Your kindness will mean the world to someone in need,” Villaraigosa said.

Villaraigosa’s schedule for today includes serving Thanksgiving meals at the Midnight Mission and leading a prayer before serving meals at the Fred Jordan Mission.

Information about volunteering in Los Angeles is available online at http://mayor.lacity.org/OurCity/Volunteer/index.html.

The first official Thanksgiving was held in the Virginia Colony on Dec. 4, 1619. The traditional meal stems from one held in 1621 by the Wampanoag Indians and the Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth, Mass.

The Continental Congress issued the nation’s first official Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1777.

President George Washington issued a national Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789, his first year in office. He declared a national thanksgiving holiday for the newly ratified Constitution, so people may thank God for “affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness” and for having “been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, particularly the national one now lately instituted.”

The first four presidents combined to issue six Thanksgiving proclamations. However, the tradition ended in 1815. Abraham Lincoln reinstituted the tradition in 1863 in an attempt to heal the divisions caused by the Civil War. Every president since has made an official Thanksgiving proclamation.

In this year’s Thanksgiving proclamation, President Barack Obama said, “In confronting the challenges of our day, we must draw strength from the resolve of previous generations who faced their own struggles and take comfort in knowing a brighter day has always dawned on our great land.”