Mild temperatures curb February fur sales

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 33, ISSUE 1, FEBRUARY 16, 2009
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.

Subscribe now and receive all the latest news, either in print or electronically. Just $150 a year for 48 issues! Sandy Parker Reports, 21219 Lago Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33433; Tel: (561) 477-3764; Fax: (561) 862-7052; SParker@SandyParker.com; www.sandyparker.com

International Fur News
with Sandy Parker

Mild temperatures curb February fur sales

A BREAK IN THE SEASONABLY COLD TEMPERATURES ACROSS MUCH OF THE U.S. in the past week or so apparently put the brakes on foot traffic through fur stores and departments. Retailers had enjoyed a relatively good January despite the adverse economic conditions and were looking forward to a further reduction of their inventories this month. But the return of mild weather evidently gave those consumers who still have disposable income further justification for keeping their pocketbooks closed to a new fur.

So far, the current retail season is not the disaster some had envisioned as a result of the international financial turmoil. Despite the poor results in November and the all-important month of December, January turned out okay and February started out well before the mercury headed upward.

THE OTHER MAJOR MARKETS WERE STILL ENJOYING THE BENEFITS OF SEASONABLE WEATHER, although the effects of the financial crisis were being felt to some extent. In Russia, retailers in the key areas around Moscow and St. Petersburg were reported not as busy as they were a year ago at this time, but nevertheless moving furs. Hats, accessories and trimmed items were said to be holding their own, but sales of important pieces were down, reflecting a cutback in spending by those who have suffered severe income cuts.

Fur sales in the colder northeastern section of China, especially around Harbin, are still described as good, but soft elsewhere. The southeastern area, notably the industrialized Guangdong Province, has been hit hard by a sharp drop in exports, resulting in the closings of thousands of factories, a huge rise in unemployment and declining real estate values. But even in the North, much of the business being done is reportedly at big discounts from already thin margins, indicating the Chinese may not be having a good season from a profit standpoint.

IN THIS ISSUE:
Mild Temps Curb Feb. Sales
Season No Disaster, Say Stores
More Conservative Course Planned
Mink Basis Seen Down 30%
U.S. ’08 Imports Plunge 26%

For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Archive. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.