Toys-R-Us, Stand Tall and Don't Back Down

The "Just Married" Issue

Dear Toys-R-Us,

I applaud and support the continuing sale of the "Just Married" issue of the Archie comic book in your stores.

Because this edition of the series involves the wedding of a gay regular character to his male partner, the bigoted watchdog group "One Million Moms" has launched an online campaign asking that you remove this comic book from your shelves. In light of this action, I implore you to be brave and hold your ground.

Certainly, the idea of "One Million Moms" speaking out against a toy store sounds intimidating, but it's much less so when you pause to consider the facts. 

1. "One Million Moms" isn't really one million moms. According to the group's own website, they are "searching for one million moms" to join their fight against perceived "filth", but in reality, even on Facebook they only have 45,000 "Likes." This is a small group of moralists trying to impose their views on others.
2. You're taking the high road. You have customers, employees, and shareholders who are gay, or who have gay friends and family. There are kids shopping in your store everyday who will grow up to be gay (with or without the "Just Married" Archie comic). By not discriminating, you help all of us feel more proud and more respected. 
3. This is not about indecency. Rest assured, you are not selling something pornographic, or obscene. Keep it real. This is about a comic book with a wedding on the cover.
4. Fighting intolerance is ultimately good business. Facing down discrimination takes guts and leadership, and those attributes are ultimately rewarded in the marketplace. Those who refuse to evolve with the changing world will be left behind by it.

The "One Million Moms" organization challenged JCPenney's choice of Ellen Degeneres as a spokeswoman, and when JCPenney refused to reverse their decision, the company enjoyed an enormous groundswell of support and appreciation from regular folks, some of whom were already JCPenney loyalists, and many of whom vowed to become new customers.

Unlike the American Family Association's "One Million Moms" project, I don't falsely claim to represent one million of anything. But let me say that on behalf of reasonably intelligent, tolerant, ordinary people everywhere (all of whom have to buy toys for their kids, nieces, nephews, and others) - thank you. Keep up the good work. Stand tall, and don't back down.

Jeff McKown
San Carlos, CA

Black Friday Results and Holiday Sales Trends

Shoppers waiting in line at Best Buy.

Two weeks ago I wrote a blog post encouraging consumers to avoid the newly created Thanksgiving Day retail super sales, in the hopes of reminding people about the dual impact of patronizing big box stores on a major holiday. When you show up to purchase your crazily discounted X-Box on Thanksgiving, you send a message of encouragement that tells retailers you don't mind shopping on an important holiday, which by default means you are comfortable asking others to enjoy their turkey feast in a break room instead of at home with their families.

Well, the overnight stampedes are over and the pepper spray has been dispersed. Black Friday retail sales results have been reported, and the expert conclusion is that those mega-discount events were indeed successful in driving customer traffic - BUT they have likely only shifted the finite spending consumers planned for the holiday to happen earlier in the season. I suppose if you're Target, Best Buy, or Toys-R-Us this may still be good news because at least you know "you got yours" this holiday season, but at what cost?

Beyond the diminishing respect levels between big corporations and their employees (which sadly is of no concern to most companies), there is also the issue of compromised profitability. Doorbuster sale items are typically sold below the retailers' costs, and if aggressive marketing doesn't somehow convince shoppers to purchase several regular priced add-on items, then the doorbusters simply erode profit margins.

Boycott Stores on Thanksgiving and Christmas

Big box retailers Target, Toys-R-Us, and Best Buy are among the chain stores who will open their doors at midnight or even earlier this year on Thanksgiving night.

I won't be there to greet the holiday shopping season, and for that matter I won't spend a dime in any store anywhere on Thanksgiving day or Christmas day.

Enough is enough.


For salivating shoppers who have created a holiday tradition out of attending "black Friday" door-buster sales, these midnight openings may add a fun and twisted new element to the holiday shopping circus. For tens of thousands of retail employees though, this represents another thoughtless business decision that further separates people from the essence of what makes holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas special - the opportunity to take a single day away from the rat race, to breathe deep and reflect on what really matters, and to spend quality time with people you love.

I understand, better than most, that retailers are scrounging increasingly harder every year to capture their piece of the all-important Christmas pie, and frankly, while the commercialization of Christmas can be a bit annoying from time to time, that's not what bothers me.