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American Retail Goods: On Sale Now -- and Forever?
Posted Feb 17, 2009 02:16pm EST by Tech Ticker in Investing, Products and Trends, Recession
Related: sks, ^gspc, ^dji, wmt, jwn, wfmi, cost

Everywhere you look, retailers are slashing prices. Such markdowns reflect a fundamental shift toward lower prices, says our guest, retail consultant Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz and Associates:

    * "70% off is the new 50% off," he says.
    * Expect apparel prices to drop 30% -40% from a year ago.
    * Consumers should actively bargain for lower prices for big-ticket items, especially furniture, jewelry, appliances and electronics.

Luxury retail may never be the same. The Wall Street Journal traced the beginning of the end for exorbitant prices to the fateful decision by Saks Fifth Avenue to slash prices by 70% on designer goods before Christmas:

"Saks's deep, mid-November markdowns were the first tug on a thread that's now unraveling long-established rules of the luxury-goods industry. The changes are bankrupting some firms, toppling longstanding agreements on pricing and distribution, and destroying the very air of exclusivity that designers are trying to sell."