Black Friday sales are going global.

I follow a couple of organizations from our former home in Central Asia and was surprised (and a bit dismayed) to see businesses in Mongolia jumping into the Black Friday madness.

Companies work hard to outdo each other with sales on the day after Thanksgiving. They start earlier every year. A few years ago, Black Friday started on Thanksgiving afternoon for some.

It’s a true race to the bottom.

REI stopped trying to win that race in 2015.

They’re one of the few major retail stores that remain closed on Black Friday. They recognized the madness of the Black Friday race went against their company values. So they remain closed on Black Friday, pay their employees, and tell them to #optoutside. This year they’re encouraging their employees and customers to not only spend the day outside but to also volunteer some time to do a cleanup project in their community.

This is a bold move. They lose potential sales on the busiest shopping day of the year. But, to use language from Simon Sinek’s latest book, they’re playing an infinite game.

And infinite minded companies who stay true to the values (values which also happen to align with my values) are way more apt to get my business.