There’s nothing like scoring a fantastic deal while out shopping. And even though you can occasionally get lucky sifting through sales racks, discount chains have long been the most reliable way to consistently score the best clothing and accessories for much less cash.
Unfortunately, regular shoppers at TJ Maxx, Burlington, and Ross may soon notice that some major fashion brands have gone missing from their favorite stores. Read on to see which labels are beginning to leave the bargain shopping world behind.
These discount chains are known to thrive when there is a glut of clothing in the market. But because there is a scarce amount of unsold clothes around, the stores are unable to get and sell premium apparel and shoe brands’ at their excessively lower prices.
Since inventories are low and customer demand is high, brands don’t have as great a need to discount merchandise, and they are easily selling items at full price.
Under Armour, Ralph Lauren, Carter’s, and Steve Madden are among the brands that have decided to back off from discount chains, also known as “off-price” stores. Levi has also walked away from discount stores.
“Off-price is a last resort,” said Susan Anderson, a retail analyst at B. Riley Securities.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, analysts say that changes to and stresses on the supply chain have led to a decrease in the amount of original inventory fashion labels have on hand while demand for the products remains relatively high. With so little spare merchandise to sell down the chain to bargain retailers, the brands are instead focusing on selling their goods at full cost.
“We have reduced the amount that we’re selling to the third-party off-price channel,” David Bergman, chief financial officer for Under Armour, said on a Nov. 2 earnings call. “Those partners would like more product.”
During an earnings call on Nov. 3, Steve Madden CEO Edward Rosenfeld also announced it was no longer sending as much of its product to discount chains due to low supplies. “Our first priority is always feeding full-price channels,” he said.
Source: AWM
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