DALLAS, Dec 20, 2008 / FW/ — Trying to beat the weekend crowd, I decided to finish my Christmas shopping today at Northpark Mall and I was surprised that though it was still a week before Christmas, retailers have marked down merchandise to as low as 75% off!
Perhaps it is a sign of the times. The current economic situation forced retailers to take aggressive actions to keep the shopping momentum. To some degree, they have succeeded. As a shopper, I was delighted. But, as a fashion observer, these SALE signs were like scarecrows for me.
For a long time, the high prices we pay for high street fashion have been justified for the exclusivity and quality. The saying ‘you get what you paid for’ held true. But, with the economic downturn, even high fashion houses had to slash prices so low that consumers might even wonder if the original price was the correct price, or was it just overly inflated?
How low prices can go, you might ask. But, the real question is, because consumers have seen prices can go down, will they accept it the moment they go up? Will fashion houses pull an OPEC, i.e. lower the amount being produced so that the price can be maintained at a high level?
OPEC can get away with it because no matter what, we need gasoline? But, how many Birkin bags do we really need?
[MARI DAVIS]
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