Reflections on responsible retail, the pressure to discount and the realities of running a small independent business.
Back in 2022, I wrote a blog about why FINDRA didn't participate in Black Friday. I was pretty firm in my views at the time, and to be fair, I still stand by much of what I wrote.
I didn't agree with the relentless encouragement to consume more, the pressure to buy things simply because they were discounted, or the way constant promotions were changing how we value the products we buy.
Four years on, my values haven't changed, but my perspective has.
Running a small independent business for almost 12 years has taught me a great deal, not least that sometimes you have to adapt your approach to the world around you.
Black Friday is a great example of that.
How did one day become a whole month?
Black Friday originated in America, where it takes place on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Interestingly, the term wasn't originally associated with shopping bargains. In Philadelphia during the 1950s and 1960s, the term 'Black Friday" was used by police officers to describe the chaos caused by huge crowds of suburban shoppers and visitors descending on the city for the annual Army-Navy football game held after Thanksgiving.
By the 1980s, retailers had embraced the term, associating it with the point in the year when businesses moved from being “in the red” to “in the black”, or into profit.
Black Friday eventually made its way across the Atlantic, gaining popularity in the UK during the early 2010s.
And then things started to get a little out of hand!
What began as a single day of special offers became a weekend, then Black Friday Week, and now we have what can only be described as Black Friday Month. In fact, some retailers are starting their promotions in October.
At this rate, I do wonder how long it will be before we have Black Friday in September!
But joking aside, this gradual extension of the discounting period is creating some very real challenges for retailers, particularly smaller independent businesses.
What happened to the Golden Quarter?
In retail, the final three months of the year, October, November and December, have traditionally been known as the Golden Quarter.
Historically, this was the period when retailers generated a significant proportion of their annual sales and, importantly, their profits. For many businesses, the money made during these months helped sustain them through the quieter periods of the year.
But there's a very important distinction between generating sales and generating profit.
When retailers are expected to offer discounts for weeks, or even months, rather than a few days, those discounts eat into their margins.
A business might sell more products, but if it's making less money on each sale, that additional turnover doesn't necessarily translate into a healthier business.
And for a small independent brand, those margins really matter.
They pay for the people who work in the business, new product development, manufacturing, premises, marketing, and all the other things that go into running a business.
The irony is that a period traditionally important for generating healthy profits is increasingly becoming a time when retailers feel pressured to sacrifice those very profits to remain competitive.
And I do wonder how sustainable that is in the long term.
The race to the bottom
In my original blog, I talked about how discounting was becoming a way of life, an expectation and a habit.
And I think that's even more relevant today.
When consumers are constantly being offered 20%, 30%, 50% or even 70% off, it inevitably changes their perception of what something is worth.
Why pay full price for something today when there's a good chance it'll be discounted next week?
And who can blame them? We've created a retail environment where we are actively encouraged to wait for the next promotion.
But when discounting becomes the norm rather than the exception, we risk losing sight of the true value of the products we're buying.
As someone who has spent their career designing and developing clothing, I know how much work goes into creating a well-designed garment. The research, the development, the materials, the manufacturing, the fitting and the countless decisions that happen long before a product ever reaches a customer.
At FINDRA, we've always believed in creating clothing that offers genuine value. Thoughtfully designed, versatile products made to be worn and loved for years, rather than chasing trends or encouraging people to constantly buy more.
And I still believe a well-designed, responsibly made product should be worth buying at its full price.
The reality of running a small independent business
One of the biggest lessons I've learned over the years is that running a business requires you to be both passionate and pragmatic.
Finding ways to stay true to your values while adapting to the commercial realities around you is not always easy.
When Black Friday comes around, whether you agree with it or not, consumers are being bombarded with offers from every direction. Their inboxes are overflowing with discounts, their social media feeds are full of promotions, and understandably, many people are holding off on making purchases because they know Black Friday is coming.
The reality is that when customers have a certain amount of money to spend, the lure of a discount can be difficult to resist. Even when they know and love a brand, the temptation of a special offer elsewhere can influence where they choose to spend their money.
For a small independent business, losing out on those sales can have a significant impact.
Larger retailers often have greater buying power, bigger marketing budgets and more flexibility when it comes to pricing. They can operate at a scale that small independent businesses simply can't.
And yet we're all competing for the same customers and the same share of their spending.
It's not a particularly level playing field.
There's also the wider economic picture to consider. Customers are facing their own financial pressures, and many are being more thoughtful about how and where they spend their money.
So while I might have strong views about the culture of constant discounting, I also completely understand why customers appreciate the opportunity to save money.
Sustainability has to include financial sustainability
When I started FINDRA, I wanted to build a business that did things differently. A business that valued good design, responsible manufacturing, quality materials and the people involved in making our products.
I've often thought that perhaps the most sustainable clothing brand is the one that doesn't exist at all. After all, the world isn't exactly short of clothes!
So, if we're going to create more clothing and put more products into the world, I believe we have a responsibility to make sure we're doing something worthwhile. Creating products with genuine value, considering the impact of what we do, and striving to make a positive difference wherever we can.
That's always been my ambition for FINDRA.
However, building a responsible business comes at a cost.
Choosing good-quality materials, working with trusted manufacturing partners, paying fair wages and investing in the people who work for you all require financial commitment.
And those costs don't disappear when you offer a discount.
From the outset, I've always aimed to build FINDRA around the principles of the Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet and Profit. It's a way of looking at business success beyond just financial performance, recognising that a truly sustainable business needs to consider its impact on people, the environment and the communities in which it operates.
For me, that means creating good-quality products responsibly, valuing the people who make them, considering our environmental impact and contributing positively to the places and communities we're part of.
And importantly, generating enough money to keep investing in our people, our products, our manufacturing partners, and the communities we're part of.
That's what financial sustainability is really about. Building a business that can not only survive, but continue to grow, create opportunities and do good work.
Because ultimately, being a responsible business isn't just about what we make. It's about how we operate, the impact we have and ensuring we're still here to make a positive difference in the years ahead.
Finding our own way
Over the years, I've come to look at Black Friday a little differently.
Rather than seeing it purely as an event that encourages unnecessary consumption, I've started to see it as an opportunity to give something back to our loyal customers.
People who already know FINDRA, love our products, and understand what goes into making them.
If someone has been considering buying a FINDRA merino base layer, a new pair of technical trousers, or a lovely merino accessory, why shouldn't we give them the chance to buy something they really want at a special price?
And perhaps, for someone who hasn't been able to justify the full price of a particular garment, a special offer makes that purchase a little more accessible.
I think there's something positive in that.
We're not creating products specifically for Black Friday. We're creating clothing that's thoughtfully designed, made using carefully selected materials and manufactured with consideration for the people who make it.
And I think there's a big difference between buying something simply because it's cheap and buying something you genuinely want, need, and will enjoy for years.
Staying true to our values
So, have I completely changed my mind about Black Friday?
Not entirely.
I still feel uncomfortable with the relentless pressure to consume and the way what was once a single shopping day has grown into something that seems to take over the entire final quarter of the year.
But I also recognise that we can't operate in isolation from the world around us.
And if there's one thing I've learned over the last 12 years, it's that being true to your values doesn't mean being unwilling to adapt.
Sometimes it means finding a different way to put those values into practice.
So rather than fighting against Black Friday altogether, I've decided that the best approach for FINDRA is to participate in a way that feels right for us. To offer our customers something special, without losing sight of the principles that have shaped the business from the beginning.
I don't think customers should feel guilty about enjoying a bargain, any more than I think independent businesses should feel guilty about offering one.
But I do hope we can encourage a more thoughtful approach to shopping, where the focus isn't simply on how much money we can save, but on the value of what we're buying.
Because ultimately, I'd much rather someone buy one FINDRA garment they love and wear for years than five things they don't really need.
And if Black Friday gives someone the opportunity to do just that, then perhaps there's a place for it after all.
It's not about how much we buy or how much we save, but about the value of what we choose to buy, the businesses we choose to support and the difference those choices can make.
So, happy shopping, lovley friends of FINDRA! I hope you enjoy our ' Black Friday' offer and a little bit off your FINDRA goodies. For us, it's our way of saying thank you.
Thank you for being here, for believing in us and for choosing to spend your hard-earned money on our products.
It really does mean the world to us, and to me personally. Because without you, there would be no FINDRA.
Alex x
Sunday Inspiration
A Christmas Advert and a Minor Moral Panic — Stewart Wilson
Many of you will be familiar with our friend of FINDRA, Stewart Wilson, aka the Tweed Valley Blogger.
Stewart and I were chatting in the café last week about the new John Lewis Christmas advert and why we both felt it hadn't quite hit the mark.
It sparked a really interesting conversation about Christmas, consumerism and what really matters. Stewart felt so strongly about it that he went away and wrote a blog!
It's a great read, with some thoughtful observations and a bit of Stewart's usual humour. I thought I'd share it with you.
Read Stewart's blog: A Christmas Advert and a Minor Moral Panic
https://tweedvalleyblogger.com/blog/a-christmas-advert-and-a-minor-moral-panic
Favourite Song
You Can't Always Get What You Want - Sam Fender
Keeping with the theme this week, I've chosen Sam Fender's version of this Rolling Stones classic, featured in the John Lewis Christmas advert.
I really love his take on the song, and particularly the sense of community he's brought to it, involving the choir from his old school and Easington Colliery Brass Band. A lovely reminder of the importance of people, place and community, something very close to my heart.
