The crisis has its up-sides.
"Indeed, the situation for retailers is so dire that it is creating opportunity for any consumers in a mood to spend money. Seven weeks before Christmas, stores are offering eye-catching bargains as they struggle to move merchandise.
“This is the year the consumer has been given a holiday gift beyond belief,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for NPD Group. “You can get anything, anywhere, at any price.”
Malls are papered with sale signs, some seven feet tall and obscuring storefronts. New merchandise is being marked down before it even hits the sales floor. Stores are extending their hours and offering the kinds of deals — “doorbusters” — that are usually reserved for the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday.
Kohl’s will stay open until midnight this Friday and offer an array of doorbusters, such as $250 diamond earrings for $77.99. Kmart is offering “early Black Friday” deals on Sundays, such as a Sylvania 32-inch LCD television for $439.99, instead of the usual $549.99.
Even Wal-Mart, whose sales at stores open at least a year were up 2.4 percent in October, began a big discount program on Thursday, lowering prices on thousands of food and gift items. It is cutting the price of a Magnavox Blu-ray player to $198 from $229, and of the Battleship board game to $10 from $14.38"
From the NYT.
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