Shop Talk
Retailers, consumers and prices
from DealZone:
Markdown poster child: I’d do it again
With the luxury of hindsight, Saks Chief Executive Stephen Sadove said he wouldn't hesitate to repeat the big markdowns of the 2008 holiday season if faced with the same tough environment that made the retailer the poster child of recessionary sales.
"It was the right thing to do to generate the cash," Sadove said at the Reuters Global Luxury Summit in New York.
The sale slashed prices on high-fashion, designer merchandise by as much as 70 percent, prompting a flood of media coverage and a slew of shoppers.
"It took some months to clear out the inventory. All the questions of vendor relationships --- every one understood very quickly it was the right thing for the business. I would have done it again," Sadove said.
Check Out Line: Retail suffers in all sorts of fashion
Check out the weak quarters at American Eagle and Talbots.
Apparently the tough U.S. retail environment is not age-specific.
American Eagle Outfitters, which sells teen apparel said fourth-quarter profit fell more than 6 percent amid weak sales, higher markdowns and competition from rivals.
The retailer also forecast first-quarter earnings well below analysts’ expectations as it has had to take higher markdown.
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