Retailers are fighting lower profits than in years past. The industry's is definitely more competitive today and companies have to do what they can to not take unnecessary markdowns,
Quotes about markdowns (14 Quotes)
We think there's very few of them that can be long-term buys because of the fashion aspect of it, ... In Gap's case, what's happened here is that they've acknowledged that they have missed fashion but, in terms of their inventory management, they'll be delivering more frequently to the stores with less inventory commitment to each delivery. That should minimize their markdowns and improve their gross margins.
This year, it is more about stores' trying to manage their business, their inventories and markdowns. They're also recognizing a second holiday season, which begins December 26.
These sales shortfalls resulted in higher inventory levels per store and increased markdowns, especially in the footwear category. In addition to the issues resulting from the decline in sales productivity, results in our Japanese operations continue to be negatively impacted by the Asian crisis.
Gasoline prices did rise in January. Spot prices for natural gas fell in December and January, but it is not clear how much of these markdowns filtered through to homeowners and commercial consumers.
Whatever strengths fashion apparel did show came from deep markdowns.
I think you should look for retailers to find ways to drive consumer traffic, but not necessarily through markdowns. There will be all kinds of promotions, coupons, open up a credit card account and get a discount, use your charge account and get a gift with a purchase. If they can get you into the store, even if you don't buy what's on sale, chances are during the holiday season you're going to walk out with something.
Out of stocks are the dirty little secret of all retailer segments and tiers. Lost sales are a far bigger problem than markdowns for overall retailer health.
We're already seeing heavy markdowns particularly in apparel,
The retailers want to make a big push for fall apparel this year, ... That's definitely a fact. There's a very strategic message here. This is well planned out in advance. The question isn't so much the timing of the markdowns as it is the amount of inventory.
The worst part of these results is that they show that the effect of the tax rebate checks has petered out. This is a nightmare in itself for retailers and it doesn't bode well for Christmas. Also, we'll probably see more markdowns now, more than retailers anticipated for the holidays. That will hurt their bottom line.
Most retail sales were relatively decent, but were achieved with the help of deep markdowns which will show up as heavy pressure on gross margins, and that is going to be reflected in the earnings,
Retailers may have struggled to clear through certain cold-weather seasonal items, perhaps resulting in deeper markdowns on those items.
With November comparable down 8 percent and the company lowering guidance once again, Hot Topic continues to be on the wrong side of the fashion trend with no near term catalysts in sight. Hot Topic will obviously need to take deep markdowns in order to clear unwanted holiday product.