“Shopping was psychological unloading, but it became loading cabinets”

This week, Black Friday kicked off all over the world – the beginning of the Christmas sales season. In the same period, an international day of protest against the culture of consumerism is celebrated. “Kommersant” asked entrepreneurs and cultural figures what is closer to them: “Black Friday” or “no shopping day”.

Natalia O’Shea, singer, creator and leader of the folk group “Melnitsa”:

Of course, Black Friday! I take advantage of all the opportunities that it presents, I follow the interesting offers of companies, which, of course, they spoil. And at the same time I save money, I quickly make orders.

On the eve of the action, sitting at Domodedovo airport on the way to Chita, I, like a highly organized Virgo, sat with folded paws, looking for options – and now I am waiting for my wonderful purchases.

---

Sergei Lee, Chief Operating Officer of M.Video-Eldorado Group:

– Russian buyers are now difficult to blame for excessive consumerism. I regularly see how carefully people study different models, ask the price, consult with our experts. As a rule, a purchase is a carefully planned investment.

According to our survey before Black Friday, about 70% of Russians buy goods this year not for themselves, but for relatives and friends, and only 18% make spontaneous purchases. Indirectly, the fact that our customers have a thoughtful approach to spending is also evidenced by the growth of traffic in stores.

---

Lena Lenina, owner of a network of manicure studios:

– Not a “no-shopping day”, but a year! And even a five-year period of refusal to buy! Even fashion magazines, drowning in the flood of overproduction of goods, are calling for moderation of unreasonable consumption.

For me, shopping was a psychological relief, but it became a load of cabinets. This year I decided to start selling bags and fashionable clothes, from which I have not even removed the labels. My assistant counted two thousand pairs of shoes, some of which I never wore out. So that she would not quit out of indignation, she had to give a dozen pairs.

---

Anna Shchepilova, Communications Director at Metro Cash&Carry:

— Black Friday, like any other promotions of this kind, helps both us and suppliers to create more favorable conditions for buyers. We are confident that our customers make purchases, understanding their resources, their capabilities, and real needs.

This year we decided to get away from the phrase “Black Friday” and its possible connotations and came up with our own – “ZakuFriday”.

---

Vlad Lisovets, fashion expert:

– With us, this is not a real “Black Friday”, we licked it and spend it not super fair at all. Yes, some decent companies do it honestly, but basically it’s a scam – for example, it is offered to buy the first thing for the full price, and they can give a 20% discount for the second. In Europe and America these days they provide really big discounts, there it is already a tradition, and not a marketing ploy, like ours.

I have never participated in this promotion and do not recommend to friends. I do not like this kind of collective events, especially those related to such an intimate process as shopping. This should be a fitting, an understanding of what and why you are buying, and not how people in a frenzy buy all sorts of nonsense they do not need.

If you need some thing, and you are sure that before Black Friday it cost 15 thousand, and now it is 12 thousand, then maybe this is worth doing. But it is better to wait for normal seasonal discounts, when the collections will be sold lower by 50 percent or even more. And now we have nothing special to sell, and hardly anyone wants to trade at a loss, getting rid of the goods really at half price.

---

Dmitry Moskalenko, President of the Russian Council of Shopping Centers:

– It’s too early for me to think about the refusal of purchases, so it’s more like “Black Friday”. I am attracted by the opportunity to buy for reasonable money something necessary for myself and for loved ones.

I don’t take everything in a row: clothes, shoes are the least of my interest, I look for something useful from technology, household items, accessories.

Now, for example, I am looking for a dryer, a microwave oven for relatives as a gift. But, alas, on “Black Friday” in this sector, not always good offers.

---

Olga Demidova, Director of the department of the company “Snow Queen”:

— I don’t see much point in opposing “Black Friday” and “no shopping day”. The organization of favorable events for buyers and customers by the retailer allows you to create an additional sense of stability, a fulcrum, make profitable purchases and acquisitions. You can’t take away people’s joy, including from buying quality things. For retail, this is a time to increase sales, because buyers are waiting for Black Friday, often postponing some important purchases for this time.

I am an inactive shopper, I have an occupational deformity, and these days I am not in the mood for shopping.

---

Maxim Artsinovich, owner of the jewelry house MaximiliaN London and the Maximilian Art Foundation (UK):

— This year I will have no purchases on Black Friday, because for almost a month I will improve in India according to the Panchakarma system, when no gadgets, money, and so on are used.

For the last 20 years, I have preferred the conservative classics of several brands. Throughout the year, they arrange closed sales that are not related to Black Friday. But even with discounts up to 80%, no one works at a loss! At the same time, I have nothing against it when my young wife chooses new collections for herself.

In my jewelry business, sales of two- or three-year-old items go on all year round and allow you to quickly replenish working capital in conditions of financial crises. In a personal mailing list to customers and through social networks, we notify about discounts up to 50-65%. But this is the limit – the price is never lower than the cost of used precious stones and metals. The high turnover allows us to compensate for the low profitability of 2–3%, and for the buyer to make profitable investments.

---

Anastasia Balashova (Nastya Ryzhik), vlogger, tiktoker:

– I love Black Friday so much that I even recorded a video for my YouTube channel about how it goes in other countries and here. The main thing is not to lose your head along with discounts on Black Friday. And then some people are so crazy that they fight for TVs and equipment right in the shops. But it was on this day that I bought myself an unforgettable little thing – a gym membership for a whole year!

Group “Direct speech”