Preview: For Shoppers, Gray Thursday Is Fading to Black

Like pumpkin pie, flag football and cornbread stuffing, the uproar over retailers’ decision to open or close on Thanksgiving Day has become an American tradition. Store management must decide whether “Gray Thursday” sales are worth the hassle, or if they should take a stand against “Black Friday creep” by giving employees the holiday off. For some shopping centers, the decision is fairly simple: Find out what anchor stores are doing and follow suit. Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks had its two largest tenants in mind when it decided to open the entire mall for shoppers from 5 p.m. to midnight on Thanksgiving Day this year, an hour earlier than in 2015. “Our hours are reflective of our retailers in the center, particularly of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s,” Colleen Sherfey, senior marketing director for the Los Angeles district at Westfield Group, said of the Thanksgiving weekend hours at Fashion Square. The decision is also in line with current market trends, she said. But this season, some retailers are breaking from the pack by shuttering stores on Thanksgiving Day – and, by publicizing their decision to do so, boosting their brand. Read the full story in the Nov. 14 issue of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.