Black Friday insanity

Vitsœ shops closed on 27 November 2015.

Apparently Philadelphia policemen coined the term ‘Black Friday’ back in the 1960s to describe the crowds that gathered the day after Thanksgiving to gorge themselves in the shops. Later it supposedly marked the move into profit as the Christmas selling period kicked off.

At Vitsœ we have always designed and built furniture for the long term. We have always offered a single, fair, honest price – avoiding discounts and sales – so that our lifelong customers can buy whenever they need. Artificially stimulating sales to encourage a short-term desire to spend is antithetical to a world of depleting resources in which our purchasing decisions must be considered ever more carefully.

Whatever its origin, at Vitsœ we are bemused by the spread of Black Friday. Surely it promotes the polar opposite of the needs of our fragile planet. Accordingly we are closing our shops in New York and London on 27 November 2015. (We will remain available behind the scenes.)

A few years ago we made a video about the phenomenon of planned obsolescence, which drives discount culture and its massive waste of natural resources. Unfortunately it is still relevant today. Watch the video here.

(And if you know someone who might need reminding not to spend wilfully, please share this page with them.)