Apparel Inventories Higher Despite Lower Sales
ADMIN
- May 19 2009
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ActionWatch Stat of the Week is a new TransWorld Business column featuring compiled data from the ActionWatch Retail Panel, a group comprised of more than 200 surf/skate independent specialty shops across the U.S.
The ActionWatch Retail Panel (same-store set) reported apparel sales were 23% lower in Q1 2009 compared to last year’s first quarter. However, the average inventory level in Q1 2009 was almost 8% higher than it was in the previous year. While all categories tracked showed decreased sales for the period, apparel was the only category that also had increased inventory levels. That is, retailers on the panel seem to be managing inventory levels of their other categories more closely to sales patterns.
What does this mean for the second quarter? Unless we see a big turnaround in sales (which is unlikely), many retailers will need to apply more discounts to turn their old inventory fast enough to be able to replace it with fresh goods. Of course, the discounts will probably be combined with lowered orders from suppliers, but we’ve already been hearing about that from the industry’s public companies.
- Cary Allington
About ActionWatch:
The ActionWatch Retail Panel includes more than 200 surf/skate independent specialty shops across the U.S. and is growing rapidly as more retailers join the free program. Retailers who participate get free access to a set of 50 reports updated each month. Retailers interested in joining the ActionWatch Retail Panel can get more information at actionwatchreports.com.
All ActionWatch reports are made from the aggregated data of the participating retailers, which are located throughout the U.S. and vary in size from 750-square-foot shops to stores over 10,000 square feet. Data is collected monthly from electronic reports submitted by participating retailers.
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