TT Note: All you have to do to verify this story is to look at the newspapers that get delivered to your home. They keep shrinking due to lack of advertisers. The recent economic woes have really hit this industry hard. Is the lack of unbiased reporting also contributing to the newspapers' demise?
From Terrible To Terrifying: Newspaper Ad Sales Plummet $2.6 Billion In Q1 2009
by Robin Wauters
Nothing like a telling graphic to illustrate what most have been expecting, albeit probably not in this order of magnitude. Veteran media exec Alan Mutter discovered some horrid statisticsabout the state of ad sales for American newspapers on trade organization NAA’s website, and published his view on the Q1 2009 numbers on his blog. They don’t look pretty.
The stats show that total newspaper ad sales dropped by an unprecedented 28.28% in the first quarter of 2009, a deep plunge.....http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/02/from-terrible-to-terrifying-newspaper-ad-sales-plummet-26-billion-in-first-quarter/
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Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Beware When Shopping Going-Out-Of-Business Sales
(SPM Wire) Going-out-of-business sales can mean huge discounts, but Better Business Bureau is warning shoppers to beware of false deals.
"The bargains are not always as advertised at going-out-of business sales and some consumers don't realize they're getting ripped off when they're supposed to be getting a deal," said Steve Cox, BBB spokesperson.
When a large retailer liquidates assets, the sale is undertaken by a liquidator who sets prices and attempts to sell items quickly and at the highest profit. So, some items actually will be marked up.
In 2008, an ABC News report revealed that many items sold during one liquidation sale were marked up as much as 14 percent.
The BBB offers this advice:
Confirm that a deal IS a deal. Some liquidators mark up prices, while a store's competitors sometimes drop prices to compete with liquidation sales.
Use credit cards. Credit cards include consumer protections if the company doesn't deliver on promised goods.
Don't count on customer service. Consumers might be responsible for delivery of large items. Understand all sales are final and you don't have many options if dissatisfied.
Know the warranty status before buying. Warranties are often maintained by manufacturers or third-parties, meaning they still apply if the retailer goes out of business.
Use gift cards ASAP. Businesses in liquidation won't survive long, so don't get stuck with worthless plastic.
For more consumer advice visit www.bbb.org.
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"The bargains are not always as advertised at going-out-of business sales and some consumers don't realize they're getting ripped off when they're supposed to be getting a deal," said Steve Cox, BBB spokesperson.
When a large retailer liquidates assets, the sale is undertaken by a liquidator who sets prices and attempts to sell items quickly and at the highest profit. So, some items actually will be marked up.
In 2008, an ABC News report revealed that many items sold during one liquidation sale were marked up as much as 14 percent.
The BBB offers this advice:
Confirm that a deal IS a deal. Some liquidators mark up prices, while a store's competitors sometimes drop prices to compete with liquidation sales.
Use credit cards. Credit cards include consumer protections if the company doesn't deliver on promised goods.
Don't count on customer service. Consumers might be responsible for delivery of large items. Understand all sales are final and you don't have many options if dissatisfied.
Know the warranty status before buying. Warranties are often maintained by manufacturers or third-parties, meaning they still apply if the retailer goes out of business.
Use gift cards ASAP. Businesses in liquidation won't survive long, so don't get stuck with worthless plastic.
For more consumer advice visit www.bbb.org.
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Retailers Suffer Low Sales, Will Have to Refocus
TT Note: Retail sales were slow last year which reflected the downturn in the economy as consumers started to hold on to precious pennies. We've noticed local stores have scaled back in their inventory. In a number of stores, this is welcome as customers can now move around the store without continually bumping into racks full of items meant to become impulse buys. Some stores seem to be refocusing back to the basics of their original lines. Will all survive? Most likely not, but those stores who have the means to refocus quickly have the best shot of making it.
Dismal Retail Sales Revealed; Gross Margins to Tell the Whole Story, Says Grant Thornton
/PRNewswire/ -- Retail sales have been dismal, but the real damage to profitability and viability was unprecedented deep discounting, according to Grant Thornton Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Services. Department stores performed the worst, with the steepest decline in same-store sales, while luxury-apparel stores saw declining sales as consumers traded down and reduced discretionary spending.
"Same-store sales only tell part of the story," said Marti Kopacz, national managing principal at Grant Thornton Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Services. "The real eye-opener will be when gross margins are announced in a couple of weeks. During the holiday sales frenzy, retailers were selling items at 60 to 70 percent off to generate cash and move inventory. Items were sold below cost, which will hurt the bottom line."
This year will bring even greater distress for the retail industry, with many national retailers expected to close stores by double-digit percentages, according to Grant Thornton analysis.
"The current retail model will need to be evaluated from both a financial and operational perspective; retailers will need to remove underperforming stores and shrink to a more profitable core," said Jim Peko, principal at Grant Thornton Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Services. "Cost reduction, store rationalization and inventory management are the keys to operational restructuring. It is critical that merchandising plans be realigned to match expected consumer demand or retailers will not survive the downturn."
Retailers enter 2009 with many challenges. With a continuing lack of consumer confidence and frugality becoming more hip, retailers in the casual apparel and department store categories will experience high leverage and declining sales, according to Kopacz. Even general merchandise stores will take a hit on profitability.
"There will be an uptick in retailers filing for bankruptcy in the first quarter," said Kopacz. "Christmas can make or break this industry, and as we see same-store sales down and margins revealed, companies will be forced to review their operations and restructure their balance sheets. I believe we'll see some tried-and-true retailers re-enter the market this year with less stores and a more concentrated product focus."
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Dismal Retail Sales Revealed; Gross Margins to Tell the Whole Story, Says Grant Thornton
/PRNewswire/ -- Retail sales have been dismal, but the real damage to profitability and viability was unprecedented deep discounting, according to Grant Thornton Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Services. Department stores performed the worst, with the steepest decline in same-store sales, while luxury-apparel stores saw declining sales as consumers traded down and reduced discretionary spending.
"Same-store sales only tell part of the story," said Marti Kopacz, national managing principal at Grant Thornton Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Services. "The real eye-opener will be when gross margins are announced in a couple of weeks. During the holiday sales frenzy, retailers were selling items at 60 to 70 percent off to generate cash and move inventory. Items were sold below cost, which will hurt the bottom line."
This year will bring even greater distress for the retail industry, with many national retailers expected to close stores by double-digit percentages, according to Grant Thornton analysis.
"The current retail model will need to be evaluated from both a financial and operational perspective; retailers will need to remove underperforming stores and shrink to a more profitable core," said Jim Peko, principal at Grant Thornton Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Services. "Cost reduction, store rationalization and inventory management are the keys to operational restructuring. It is critical that merchandising plans be realigned to match expected consumer demand or retailers will not survive the downturn."
Retailers enter 2009 with many challenges. With a continuing lack of consumer confidence and frugality becoming more hip, retailers in the casual apparel and department store categories will experience high leverage and declining sales, according to Kopacz. Even general merchandise stores will take a hit on profitability.
"There will be an uptick in retailers filing for bankruptcy in the first quarter," said Kopacz. "Christmas can make or break this industry, and as we see same-store sales down and margins revealed, companies will be forced to review their operations and restructure their balance sheets. I believe we'll see some tried-and-true retailers re-enter the market this year with less stores and a more concentrated product focus."
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