Office Depot, Office Max Will Close For Thanksgiving

(RTTNews) - Office Depot Inc. (ODP) Thursday said all of its Office Depot and OfficeMax stores will closed on Thanksgiving Day, in order to allow employees to spend time with their family and friends.

"As we evaluated our store hours for this holiday and weighed the business and personal considerations, we decided it was best to provide our associates with the day off to spend time with family and friends by closing our retail stores on Thanksgiving Day," said Troy Rice, chief operating officer of North America for Office Depot.

Shoppers can visit the company's website starting at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday for Black Friday deals, the company said in a statement. Online purchases can be picked up in-store starting Friday, November 25. Office Depot stores will open at 6 a.m.

Office Depot joins several other retailers who have promised to keep their stores shut on Thanksgiving day so that their employees would be able to celebrate the holiday with their families.

HHGregg, American Girl, AT&T, Bed Bath & Beyond, Costco, GameStop, Home Depot, IKEA, PetSmart have all announced that they will be closing on Thanksgiving holiday.

It is only in recent years that retailers started the trend of shopping on Thanksgiving Day ahead of Black Friday, however, many have criticized it to be unfair as employees of retail stores will have to be away from family and friends on the holiday. Now, the trend seems to change.