Britt Beemer January Quotations

Retailers had a sales plan for Christmas, stayed with it and then benefited from a very strong January without giving up margins.

I think retailers will hold prices up to 40 percent off before Christmas and then go even deeper in January to clear inventory. No doubt, heavy discounts help sales but they hurt profits. And retailers, more than ever, know that they have to answer to Wall Street and not Main Street.

Consumers love January because January has always been this great clearance month. If they don't see (sales), as they've proved this Christmas, they'll outwait the retailer.