Are Merchants Taking Advantage?
A front page story on Sunday’s edition of The Capital decried New this season: lower prices. Certainly that appears to be good news for consumers in a recession riddled economy. While not ideal, it has to be good news for retailers if it is bringing in new customers.
But all the good news this article brought was removed with one simple fact:
She said she charged between $19 and $29 for the T-shirts that normally sell for $89.
Now, no retailer should be chastised for a fair markup. After all people are in business to make money, but when you see a figure like this, is it any wonder that they are seeing their sales drop in a recession? Is it any wonder why local merchant associations are having a difficult time re-selling the concept of buying locally? Is it any wonder why consumers are flocking to the Targets and Sam’s Clubs of Parole? It seems that the local downtown merchants do have some beef with the economy and the City, but with creative pricing such as this, they also share a good part of the blame in their own struggles.
