Toys `R' Us, Sears Try Sales in Christmas Salvage Bid

Bloomberg ^ | December 25, 2002 | Greg Wiles

[sarcasm]

New York, Dec. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Toys ``R'' Us Inc., Sears Roebuck & Co. and other retailers will offer after-Christmas discounts of as much as 80 percent, trying to salvage what may be the worst holiday shopping season in more than three decades.

[Walkin Man]

Hey these stores need to close down in the US and re-open where the economy is booming and many new jobs are being created everyday...communist China.

Of course those people make about 5 bucks a week so...

[VOA]

bump...
no mention that on the eve of possible WAR with Iraq, a strong campaign to wipe
out a world-wide terror network, and possible need to act against North Korea.....

AND the end of the speculuative bubble that was The Clinton Decade of Greed...

Millions of Americans still ventured out to stores, investing their time and energy to
celebrate a hopeful holiday.

While the Palestinians DESTOYED the Christmas holiday in the Holy Land itself for
the second year in the row...
and again blamed the first target they could find...Israelis/Jews.

[eno_]

They make $5/week on average. But if your top 5% is as numerous as the U.S. top 25%, you still have a middle class and luxury market.

We need to cut taxes, cut government, cut regulatory costs, and gear our economy for growth, or China WILL eclipse us in 30-50 years - one or two generations.

Worse still, we may not see how China overtakes us until it is too late. We may see massive rural poverty, illiteracy, polluted cities, etc., that hide a middle class that outstrips ours. Then it is game over.

[XRdsRev]

I honestly can't remember ever hearing a retail business announce that it had a fantastic holiday selling season. They may announce excellent results for a particular day like Black Friday but I think pulling the "now just after Christmas we are in such bad shape we're slashing prices" routine is a great sales ploy whether it is true or not.

It seems to me that telling people that you are so desperate that you're practically giving stuff away is a better strategy for getting them into your stores than telling them you just made a pile of money and now don't really need their business.

Several big malls here in central New Jersey had to close their parking areas for several hours because of congestion. That is the first time I can recall that ever happening. I have a problem believing that all those people were fighting traffic at the mall just to walk around and window shop.

[Hawkeye's Girl]

Yup. I work at mall, and it was packed every day I was there this month.

The stores just want people to go out tomorrow and buy even more stuff.

[bigfootbob]

" I have a problem believing that all those people were fighting traffic at the mall just to walk around and window shop.

I agree. The retailers are using the liberal RAT methodology, like used when discussing budgets or funding social security. If sales do not hit inflated expectations, then it's a bad season even if the revenue is better than last year.

[jdontom]

It must depend on where one lives, here in Sacramento the malls were literally packed every day. My brother has a on line sales and made more in two weeks than he did all year. Everyone has new cars, new homes, new expensive toys, even the beggers here are doing great, new shoping carts, new blankets, new coats etc. Where is the poverty.

[RippleFire]

bump

[rwfromkansas]

Sales here were great also.

The worst season in decades?

BS!!!!!!!

[CindyDawg]

The stores just want people to go out tomorrow and buy even more stuff.

I'll be there. That's when I start my shopping. I buy presents and wrapping, on sale all year and do very little spending in December. I also think these reports are questionable . Yesterday, the freeway was backed up with people trying to get to the mall and Walmarts.

[templar]

It seems to me that telling people that you are so desperate that you're practically giving stuff away is a better strategy for getting them into your stores than telling them you just made a pile of money and now don't really need their business.

A strategy that has always seemed to work well for furniture stores and used car lots. I've seen some very succesfull businesses built on going out of business and distress sales.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Other sources are saying this is the worst holiday season in ten years....Not good.

[JNB]

One of the worst things to go by in economics in anectdotal evidence. The truth is sales are not all that great, it says alot of same store sales are up less than in recession years 91,82 or 74, not to mention the exteremely high levels of discounting used to driove the sales this year.

Yes, the malls may seem busy, but are these the brand new malls in the exurbs, or the older suburban malls? I live in Sacramento as well, and while a poster said malls were busy, I will say, thet while Roseville mall was packed, the older Sunrise Mall and Country Club plaza still had plenty of spaces this weekend. While Wal-Marts may be packed, they can and evry well are stealing sales from other retailers, be it traditional department stores who had another lousy Christmas, or the supermarkets. And even if foot traffic is the same or even up from last year, what does it matter from the retailer point of view if they spend $450 this year on items bought at a discount of 30% vs. $500 a paice last year on items bought discounted 20%. That will ding the retailers eranings.

Also for Sacramento, the truth is, people have been spending like drunken sailors because they have taken out big home re-fis or massibe home equity loans because of the 80% increase in real estate that Sacramento area has had in the last 3.5 years. That is really helped the economy move along, but I will tell you this, if the HPs and Intels in the area dont turn around soon and as thousands of state workers are laid off, look for the Malls during most of 2003 to have plenty of good, easy access parking spaces.

[William Terrell]

Good thought. Has that Ring of Truth.

[uncbob]

Maybe crdit card debt has finally hit home and the instant gratification American buyers are finally maxed out on all their cards

[Trajan88]

Every Christmas I hear the same song & dance from retailers.

If they don't like that folks have learned to spend less than they earn, stores' management should get out of retail.

Funny how the free market works as well as the law of supply & demand.

Trajan88; TAMU Class of '88

[Grut]

Doesn't Sears define a 'sale' as any time their prices are within 130% of the competition's?

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

Yes, you're right. My local mall was packed to capacity over the weekend. It is now a matter where due to infrastructure, you just can't squeeze any more people into the mall. The key detail is that the forcast is now 'only' a 1.5% year-to-year gain, which if true is probably at least 10% higher than 3-4 years ago when the economy was stellar. Now, 10% higher sales is 'the worst holiday in 30 years'. These are the types of games these economists and statisticians play.

You can't expect same store sales to increase healthily year after year with no infrastructure improvements, that's simply impossible. How many people are supposed to fit in the store, anyway??

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

That's because they missed their unrealistic forcasts. You should know the drill by now, pipe-dream predictions that are unment followed by pronouncements of 'worst holiday sales ever' news articles and after-Christmas sales. Yet, the sales figures go up every year. See my #19.