Father’s Day wasn’t much help to the U.S. retail industry in June, as most major chains posted same store sales results that were farther into negative territory than anyone expected. While most retailers were quick to blame unseasonably cool and wet weather for their poor sales results, some others, like Saks, Buckle, and Tandy found a way to buck recessionary trends and deliver positive results. Apparently their customers own umbrellas.
Saks pulled itself out of double-digit same store sales losses for the first time in seven months, which was a noteworthy accomplishment achieved with a not so noteworthy retail tactic. Saks threw a sale, and shoppers showed up for it. How pedestrian!
Apparently Marc Jacobs cotton twill jackets and Pima cotton skirts from Red Valentino become recessionary must-haves when they are marked down 70%. But isn’t that something that TJ Maxx, Ross and Stein Mart figured out a couple of decades ago?
The designer sale which was staged in June is an annual event at Saks. Despite its particular appeal to shoppers this year, however, discounting is not going to be adopted as an ongoing strategy, no matter how desperate for transactions the Fifth Avenue retailer might seem to be. The luxury retailer, instead, has decided to meet scarcity with scarcity.
This fall Saks shoppers will find fewer designers, smaller collections, and a limited assortment of sizes and colors of just about everything. It seems this will be true for most luxury retail operations. By offering less, luxury retailers are creating a paradigm of that’s-all-there-is-there-ain’t-no-more, which they are hoping will retrain their customers to shop early and shop often.
Luxury is moving back to... more...
Saks pulled itself out of double-digit same store sales losses for the first time in seven months, which was a noteworthy accomplishment achieved with a not so noteworthy retail tactic. Saks threw a sale, and shoppers showed up for it. How pedestrian!
Apparently Marc Jacobs cotton twill jackets and Pima cotton skirts from Red Valentino become recessionary must-haves when they are marked down 70%. But isn’t that something that TJ Maxx, Ross and Stein Mart figured out a couple of decades ago?
The designer sale which was staged in June is an annual event at Saks. Despite its particular appeal to shoppers this year, however, discounting is not going to be adopted as an ongoing strategy, no matter how desperate for transactions the Fifth Avenue retailer might seem to be. The luxury retailer, instead, has decided to meet scarcity with scarcity.
This fall Saks shoppers will find fewer designers, smaller collections, and a limited assortment of sizes and colors of just about everything. It seems this will be true for most luxury retail operations. By offering less, luxury retailers are creating a paradigm of that’s-all-there-is-there-ain’t-no-more, which they are hoping will retrain their customers to shop early and shop often.
Luxury is moving back to... more...
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