Each year without fail, a relative of mine loads up on Best Buy stock just before the holidays. “It’s a sure thing,” he boasts, “because the stock always climbs from the Christmas revenue.”
But even with all the earlier-than-ever Black Friday sales and hubbub this year, including the aforementioned Best Buy issuing tickets for its doorbuster items starting at 3 a.m., holiday sales forecasts for retailers are down. Wal-Mart, Macy’s and JC Penney all adjusted their sales projections downward last week, and the National Retail Federation predicts that holiday sales will grow only 4% for 2007, versus 4.6% in 2006.
Besides general economic issues, reasons cited for the dimmer sales outlook include residual fear among parents regarding the safety of some of the season’s hot toys after a year marred by lead and product design issues. Interestingly, apparel sales are also predicted to suffer because of a lack of major 2007 fashion trends (no must-have items). Because the stock and housing markets have been down, high-end retailers dealing in luxury items are expected to be hit especially hard.
Tim Finley, former CEO of men’s clothing retailer Jos. A Bank, believes that is the holiday season goes as expected, we can anticipate significant consolidation of retailers in 2008.
Black Friday Halo Dims As ’08 Jitters Erupt [CNN Money]
Image Credit: Sister72
Published or updated November 21, 2007. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
Rank: Dime
Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
