Retailers on the high street are having a particularly tough time of it at the moment. With well-known chains, most notably Peacocks, walking a thin line between survival and administration, many brands are being forced to make difficult decisions in order to remain a presence in the retail industry.
This is why Debenhams has made the choice to half the price of new stock the moment it hits the shelves of the chain’s commercial properties around the country. With the average family’s disposable income dwindling on a daily basis, the simple fact is most people can no longer afford to splash the cash in clothing stores, and must wait to take a shopping spree until it is a complete necessity.
Debenhams stores put on a “mini January sale” on Tuesday this week (September 11th) in order to try and entice shoppers into spending some of their hard earned cash. 50 per cent was slashed from its new clothing, electronics, toys and homeware ranges, with 25 per cent discounts remaining in place for the following five days to take advantage of weekend consumers.
Well-known brands such as Miss Selfridge, Ted Baker and Adidas were included in the deal, and even traditionally well performing fragrance and beauty brands such as Dior and Chanel had ten per cent discounted from their regular retail prices. Shoppers could pick up a pair of Sketchers trainers for £35 – down from £70 – or take advantage of a £550 saving on a “Newport” dining table and chairs as the mood took them.
Debenhams said the move was designed to win consumers back to their 171 nationwide commercial properties, as discount stores such as Primark have begun to overtake the traditional high street giants in the battle for custom.
This is the first time a sale has featured new line items, as it is traditionally a method of offloading the previous season’s stock to make room for new items coming in. Usually, the stock hitting the shelves at the moment would not be reduced until well into the autumn, demonstrating how dire the situation for even big name retailers has become.
Marketing director at Debenhams, Richard Cristofoli, said; “We are turning the normal sale strategy on its head and giving end of season sale prices at the start.
“We want to give people a very good reason to shop with us.”
Debenhams have now laid down the gauntlet of how far they are willing to go to attract consumers to their stores, and it is expected that rivals will have no choice but to follow suit with sales initiatives of their own. In effect, the retailing giants have put a high street price war in motion.
Unfortunately, in what was supposed to be a huge year for British retailing, it appears that the high revenues promised as a result of the Olympic Games have failed to materialise. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) this week posted sales results for last month, which had dropped 0.4 per cent compared to the same time last year.
Clearly, retailers have to up their game to draw consumers back into their stores and become more inventive, as Richard Dodd from the BRC claims.
He said; “Debenhams’ move is symptomatic of times.
“There has been a price war on the high street for a long time and this is the latest salvo.”
Do you think that a popular retailer such as Debenhams are really in danger of being forced into administration during the double dip recession, or is this simply a way of increasing profit margins? Would you be more likely to visit a commercial property if they held a sale on new items, or do you think people are simply cutting down on all non-essential spending in a bid to save money and incentives such as this will have no effect whatsoever?
