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Sell, sell, sell
NEWS-TIMES
Retailers’ dreams of a black Christmas, a shopping season that will lift their profitability out of the red, may become reality if forecasts of surprisingly good holiday sales hold true. A successful season will likely do more to boost the economy than some of the reckless government giveaway schemes proposed by those in Washington so eager to spend money they don’t have.
To be sure, some government intervention is needed to shore up the economy, but nothing will do as much good as what retail store managers know so well — sell, sell, sell!
The National Retail Federation says pent-up demand from consumers who have been waiting all year for great deals could bode well for some stores.
But it’s the deep discounts on clothing, electronics and toys that drew the masses to stores this morning, and more creative efforts to entice shoppers throughout the holiday shopping season are the only way for the retail sector to overcome the sluggishness of the year that is drawing to a close.
“The fact that we discounted things a little further than we normally do this season should help,” said Morehead City Belk store manager Tre Stallings earlier this week.
The same tactics may be needed by the ailing auto industry, a linchpin of the national economy. The Wall Street Journal suggests Detroit’s Big Three should have to restructure their labor relations so as to be able to sell off some or all of their major assets to successful companies as a condition for government assistance.
“There are a number of potential buyers for these assets,” according to the Journal’s Robert W. Crandall and Clifford Winston. “Toyota’s market cap is $100 billion and Volkswagen’s market cap is $110 billion. Either could bid for these assets. Honda, Nissan and even U.S. companies in related sectors, such as Caterpillar or John Deere, are possible buyers.”
The writers contend that because American carmakers are failing to produce models buyers want, as proven by the massive loss of market share to foreign car manufacturers, bailouts and bankruptcies won’t change the fundamental problem plaguing the car companies — their lack of innovation.
“In the end,” they said, “the capital and labor of these companies need to be reallocated into better hands.”
A discount sale, as retailers know so well, would result in a major cash infusion. That could potentially lift the entire American economy and save taxpayers from a wasteful government bailout gimmick that ignores the true nature of the problem and is doomed to fail.
To be sure, some government intervention is needed to shore up the economy, but nothing will do as much good as what retail store managers know so well — sell, sell, sell!
The National Retail Federation says pent-up demand from consumers who have been waiting all year for great deals could bode well for some stores.
But it’s the deep discounts on clothing, electronics and toys that drew the masses to stores this morning, and more creative efforts to entice shoppers throughout the holiday shopping season are the only way for the retail sector to overcome the sluggishness of the year that is drawing to a close.
“The fact that we discounted things a little further than we normally do this season should help,” said Morehead City Belk store manager Tre Stallings earlier this week.
The same tactics may be needed by the ailing auto industry, a linchpin of the national economy. The Wall Street Journal suggests Detroit’s Big Three should have to restructure their labor relations so as to be able to sell off some or all of their major assets to successful companies as a condition for government assistance.
“There are a number of potential buyers for these assets,” according to the Journal’s Robert W. Crandall and Clifford Winston. “Toyota’s market cap is $100 billion and Volkswagen’s market cap is $110 billion. Either could bid for these assets. Honda, Nissan and even U.S. companies in related sectors, such as Caterpillar or John Deere, are possible buyers.”
The writers contend that because American carmakers are failing to produce models buyers want, as proven by the massive loss of market share to foreign car manufacturers, bailouts and bankruptcies won’t change the fundamental problem plaguing the car companies — their lack of innovation.
“In the end,” they said, “the capital and labor of these companies need to be reallocated into better hands.”
A discount sale, as retailers know so well, would result in a major cash infusion. That could potentially lift the entire American economy and save taxpayers from a wasteful government bailout gimmick that ignores the true nature of the problem and is doomed to fail.
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