Mild winter cuts retail traffic

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 30, ISSUE 44, JAN. 15, 2007
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.
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International Fur News
with Sandy Parker
Mild winter cuts retail traffic
UNSEASONABLY MILD TEMPERATURES AROUND MUCH OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE – which have been setting records for this time of the year – are continuing to undermine consumer demand for outerwear and other winter-related products. Retail fur sales, which were mostly disappointing in November and December, are now tracing a mostly sluggish path through the first half of January. For North American retailers, who do the bulk of their fur business from November through February, this does not bear the earmarks of a good season. Despite the prominence of furs in the overall fashion picture, cold weather is demonstrably the necessary catalyst when it comes to consumer decisions.
But while the season’s midpoint has passed, giving retailers little or no reason to reorder merchandise, many still believe they have a chance to make it work. With two full months of winter still ahead – and given sustained cold weather – they think it’s possible to make up for much of what they missed in November and December. The profit picture may not be as bright as it might have been, considering that they are now entering the clearance part of the season, when they normally trim their markups to spur the movement of their merchandise. But, given the fact that they own much of that inventory at below replacement cost because of the rising skin market, they have that much more room to maneuver and still move the goods profitably.
IMPORTS OF FUR APPAREL INTO THE U.S. in November continued this year’s steady decline, but at a much lower rate. Total receipts from all sources in the latest month amounted to $30.8 million, down about 2% from the same month last year. This brought the 11-month aggregate to $216.2 million, a decline of 12%.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Mild Winter Cuts Retail Traffic
December Called Disappointing
January in Sluggish Start
Wild Fur Prices Stronger
U.S. Imports Continue Slide
For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.
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