Now small upscale specialty retailers are announcing store closures. Women’s Wear Daily announced today that Harold’s, an upscale men’s and women’s specialty apparel store (think Talbot’s and Talbot’s Men) will close their 41 existing traditional stores as well as their two outlet locations. Watch out! January and February are going to be a bloodbath with […]
Retail
Circuit City to close 155 stores
Well, the first wave of store closings, 155 stores, has been announced by Circuit City. One thing I found interesting about this list is that it is geographically dispersed throughout the country. It looks more like they are reducing the number of stores in all major metro markets as a way to drive more sales […]
Value City and Shoe Pavilion Announce Liquidation
As Freddie Mercury used to sing, “Another One Bites the Dust” Actually the last week has brought two more high-profile liquidation announcements: Value City and Shoe Pavilion. Value City will close their remaining 66 stores while Shoe Pavilion will close their remaining 64 units. On the heels of the Linens ‘N Things liquidation and the […]
Luxury retailers taking a hit
It’s no surprise that, in times like these, discount retail sales are up and mid-tier retail sales are down. What is surprising is how hard the luxury retail sector is being hit. Typically, luxury retailers remain stable even when the rest of the world is in a slump. Why aren’t the super wealthy spending? Could […]
Holiday gift card sales—good or bad this year?
According to an article from ICSC, a recent survey by Archstone Consulting reports that US consumers will be spending less on gift cards this holiday season. I think we’re going to see that it’s more about “need” than “want” this year. More and more people will be using their gift cards to purchase necessities—groceries, food, […]
2008 holiday sales to increase
I was surprised to see the National Retail Federation is estimating a 2.2 percent increase in holiday sales this year. From my perspective, I think we’ll be lucky to see any increase. When you take into consideration the fact that inflation is currently 5 percent higher than it was this time last year, and could […]
