Going out of Business Sale

This was day two of the store closing of The Laurel House Shops - Susan's boutique store for women. Beginning with Ellabella in 2002, Susan built one of the premier upscale stores for women in Cincinnati. It has been an interesting journey and I can say that Susan can be applauded for her entrepreneurial retailing savvy.

I was fascinated today in watching the consumers frenzy of a store closing (everything including fixtures was marked down 50% or more). Two days of sales was almost equal to the entire December Xmas revenue. All this with no advertising other than an email to the customer list and a huge 5 foot by 10 foot sign. This speaks well of the brand identity that Susan built. The parking lot was full all day.

I think consumers lose perspective in the time pressure of -- will someone else snap up the item before me. It almost has the psychology of an auction. I was relegated to "stock boy", helping to load the furniture and bringing up new merchandise from the storage room in the basement. Women would wait anxiously as I would emerge from the stairway - wanting to be first to view (or pounce) the merchandise.

I will be curious on the 'declining balance" of sales during the liquidation. Clearly the first two days create the greatest "buzz" and the early "pick-ins" go to the early birds. At this rate of sales the store will be empty in a week.

I can see why the oriental rug dealers would go from town to town opening up a store front and then announcing a store closing - it creates energy and excitement from the consumer hoping to capitalize on a great deal. Unfortunately the deals were usually to the advantage of the dealer.

It just proves the point of the quote I heard - "The U.S. consumer knows the price of everything an the cost of nothing."

Postblog (1/28/11): The quote comes from Oscar Wilde's Lord Darlington ActIII --- "What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing"