Wringing out some sales
Beleaguered merchants are trying to pry open the wallets of shell-shocked consumers with promotions so aggressive that it feels like the holidays have come two months early. The flurry of deals has intensified as the financial maelstrom spreads and nervous shoppers rein in spending.
“Most retailers are just hunkering down and trying to stay in the black and hoping their sales can equal last year,” said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. “It can’t get much worse.”
To be sure, yesterday, major retailers reported abysmal sales for September and slashed estimates for a holiday season that was already expected to be the worst in decades. September sales for stores open at least a year, a measure of retail health, plummeted 12.4 percent at J.C. Penney Co. and 6 percent at American Eagle Outfitters Inc. Even luxury merchants took a hit, with sales plunging 10.9 percent at Saks Inc.
Discounters were the only bright spot. BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. in Natick reported sales soared 10.4 percent at stores open at least a year. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, reported a 2.4 percent increase in same-store sales, although this fell below Wall Street estimates. Target Corp., however, reported a 3 percent drop in same-store sales, worse than analysts expected.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before. Adjusting in this kind of economy is like learning to fly without wings in the dark,” said Luciano Manganella, who runs the 344 clothing chain, which has seven stores in Massachusetts. “Making money in this environment is a dream from the past.”
