Asda snubs Black Friday for the second year running
As tills ring out across the country to the sound of bargain hunters grabbing pre-Christmas bargains one retailer is notable only by its absence from the fray, Asda.
Having been the scene of unseemly store brawls and a whole lot of pushing, shoving and swearing the supermarket has decided to forego the consumerist event for the second year in a row, producing a spoof video instead.
The mannequin challenge sees staff and customers of its Pudsey store participate in the social media craze by freezing their movement as a camera pans round the outlet – a far cry from the chaotic jostling of two year’s ago.
Russell Craig, media relations director for Asda, said: "Last year we said that we were stepping away from Black Friday because, as much as we had developed a well organised and executed event the feedback from our customers was clear that they didn’t want the pressure of a ‘flash sale’ and preferred to know we were offering low prices throughout the festive season.
“There are only so many ways you can make that message interesting for people – so we decided to have a bit of fun this year and get some of our colleagues involved in a mannequin challenge that we hope will both amuse and inform.”
Walmart-owned Asda was credited/blamed for bringing the Black Friday phenomenon to these shores in 2013.