What are retailers’ strategies for generating sales this holiday?
Reed: “Christmas in August or Christmas in October. It’s an earlier Christmas and a more promotional one. We’re already seeing Christmas mailers now. It used to be that Halloween was its own seasonal shopping experience. I think it’s going to get skipped this year for Christmas.” Collins: “We think it’s very important that we evolve our product and innovate, and we have merchandise that is fresh and compelling for the consumer.” Van Sinderen: “There will be a lot of promotions, door busters and giveaways to get people into the stores to buy. Companies are also trying to do sales earlier in the season. The retailers that do this will get the traffic. The ones that sell at full price will struggle — unless they’re selling items that are absolute must-have items. Part of the problem is that there aren’t a lot of must-have items, nor is there a large enough shift in fashion trends, especially in apparel, to generally drive sales.” Gonzalez: “It’s going to be a price war. Retailers are thin
