Plymouth, NH Sears Franchise Owner Refuses Order To Open On Thanksgiving
PLYMOUTH, NH (CBS) - When Holly Cassiano received a memo stating she was required to open up the Sears Hometown Store she owns at 7 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, she says she knew she had to take a stand.
"I was furious, to be honest," said Cassiano. "It's just against everything I believe in."
Holly says the holiday should not be ignored.
"For us to just bypass this and say that the dollar figure is more important than us being with our families, it's unacceptable," said Cassiano.
So she fired off a letter to the corporate bosses, stating her intention to ignore the required hours and remain closed on Thursday.
"They are coming back at us with 'we're going to take away your bonus for the rest of the year. This is a breach of contract,'" said Cassiano.
Cassiano, who has owned the franchise store in Plymouth, New Hampshire since 2009, will follow the rules and open up on Black Friday at 6 a.m.
"I'm just a little peon. We don't make a million dollars like they do," said Cassiano.
In a statement, Sears defended their decision.
"We have encouraged all of our dealers and franchisees to be open on Thanksgiving evening because we believe that is what many consumers want," David Buckley, Chief Marketing Officer of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc., said.
Customers at the store Wednesday said they were in favor of Cassiano's stance. Cassiano has even received flowers from people who wanted to show their support.
"There's a lot of people that have young kids," said Linda Carmichael of Bridgewater. "They don't need to work even though they need the money, they need to be at home with their family."
Holly's contract with Sears Hometown Stores is up in a month. If it gets taken away, she says she's prepared to go to court.
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