Sales At A Glance: Thursday, July 31, 2008
Loobalee as Sales At A Glance
Jul|31|2008
Well, it seems as though Summer was behind us — at least from a Shopping season perspective. When we began reporting Sales At A Glance in March, the Summer season was just getting in full swing. Wow — it flew by so fast.
Retailers are all now focused on promoting Back to School merchandise for kids (and babies/toddlers too!), as well as offering various promotions, such as free shipping and 15-30% off new merchandise.
What to do? My recommendation is to only buy what you need at this point in the season. Sure, the new styles are fun and enticing (it takes some real discipline to resist), but we’ve learned time and again that as soon as school starts across the country, the sales and promotions will be much better.
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Current Sales
- American Girl
- Check out July’s month specials, where you can save 15 - 20% off selected current merchandise. Watch for the sales to change over night — expect new specials tomorrow, August 1! Tip: The timing of these specials often coincide with further reductions on current sale merchandise and/or the addition of new sale merchandise, so we could see some changes in the sale section of the website tomorrow.
- Abercrombie Kids
- Finally! There are markdowns on the website greater than 50%! Sales are appear to be in the 40-60% off range now. I wonder if this is enough to move the inventory. I’m guessing sale merchandise will sit at these prices for a while.
- Baby Gap & Gap Kids
- “Give and Get” promotion starts tomorrow: August 1 -3. Get 25% off. You must have a code. Codes are being disributed via email to credit card holders and registered web-site users. A great part of this sale, is that the Card Holder gets to select a charitable cause, to which 5% of your sales will be donated.
- Especially for Cardholders: Get 20% through August 21st. Enter “STUFFSAVE” at checkout.
- New styles just reduced - a nice surprise to see at the beginning of a sale event!
- Stock up on playwear favorites for babies and toddlers at 2 for $20 - includes both Playtime Favorites and Brannan’s Favorites.
- New items added to Summer sale - now marked down to 30 - 70% off retail. If you have a code for the August 1 -3 Sales event, my advice is to try to use it on Sale Merchandise to get the most bang for code and buck.
- Crazy 8
- Back to School: $5.99 graphic tees, $7.99 polos, and $9.99 denim.
- Watch the remaining Summer sales closely, this merchandise is likely to reduce further in the near the future. Right now, save 40-60% (occasionally more).
- Coupons are available promoting Back to School clothes. Save 20% through August 24th.
- If you aren’t getting Crazy 8 coupons in the mail, subscribe here.
- CrewCuts
- Enter the Set-For-School sweepstakes and win a $2,000 wardrobe that comes with the help of a personal shopper to pull it all together! Daily prizes are also being given away — each day you can play a match-making game to win (of course you have to keep coming back).
- While I’m not seeing further price reductions on sale merchandise, new items are being added to the site. As of today, there are 16 pages of Girls sale merchandise and 12 page of Boys items
- Continue to take an 25-40% off all Summer Sale and Clearance items.
- Crewcuts receives their store markdowns each Tuesday after closing. So, Wednesdays are typically the best days to shop.
- Garnet Hill
- Summer sales have increased from 60% - 70% in savings. According to the site, the sales and prices are good through August 5 only. I love watching the end of these promotions — they generally mean that after the end date, inventory will be more limited but sales are likely to get better!
- Back to School lines were introduced yesterday. Over 170 new kids autumn apparel and accessory items for Back to School. Watch the pencil for introductory items marked at 15-20% off.
- Coupon sites, such as Retail Me Not, usually have codes for $10 off $50, $20 off $100, and $50 off $250.
- Sale of the Day: Twill Cargo Jacket for Girls - just $14.00 (76% off).
J.Crew Website Woes: Have Too Many Orders Gone Amiss?
Loobalee as News & Trends
Jul|30|2008
I don’t think so. I honestly feel bad for J.Crew, who has been struggling for a full month now trying to correct the order processing issues caused by their recent website upgrade. But, based on their responses to the problems, I doubt they’ve hit the point where they’ve driven too many customers away.
Today, CEO Millard Drexler and President Tracy Gardner posted the announcement above on the home page of their website, which was also delivered by email to customers. Between the lines, the message is telling us that the issues have escalated to the highest levels of the Company for resolution. I have a strong respect for their willingness to publicly tie their names to the problems, which is also an indicator of the severity of impact the issues have had inside J.Crew.
What’s unique about the problems J.Crew has been having, is that they aren’t visible to Visitors of the site. But, once an order is placed, many Buyers have become painfully aware of the internal processing issues J.Crew has been dealing with over the last month: late orders, partial shipments, missing items, promises made by more-than-friendly Customer Service agents, and so on. (You can read more details about the issues at the J.Crew Aficionada blog).
I became personally aware of the issues through my friend, who placed three Crewcuts orders over the last 4 weeks. They all took over two weeks to arrive, two of them were partial shipments (though the website showed the items still available), and a couple of items never did arrive. For all her troubles, J.Crew responded by giving her a $50 gift card. Wow! I think this gesture is a sign that they desperately care about their customers and are working hard to make things right. Read the rest of this entry »
Universally Appealing: Zodiac Tees from Cosmic Bebe
Loobalee as Around the Web
Jul|29|2008
What a great idea! We love these adorable tees designed by Julie Stevenson of Cosmic Bebe. They are such a refreshing change from the latest trends in t-shirts for little ones that feature rock, political, and goth themes. Most of the sweet designs are equally appealing for baby boys and girls, and would make enchanting shower or baby gifts for new Moms.
I have both Taurus and Cancer children, and found Julie’s simple designs to be right on target with their personalities. Here’s what Julie has to say about the inspiration for her designs:
After realizing that both of our little stars resembled their zodiac sign, I thought it would be fun to put it to the test. Thus being said, we have created unique designs to represent each astrological sign. We have carefully hand selected each piece of clothing and take great pride in our quality and customer relationships. We like to think of each of you as our friends.
Currently, Cosmic Bebe is offering a free, promotional give-away. Register by August 31 to win a cool collection of Cosmic Bebe apparel!
We think you should immediately transport yourself to the Cosmic Bebe universe and check out Julie’s Sign Chart of designs. Be sure to save them to your favorites for future gift ideas!
Sales At A Glance: Monday, July 28, 2008
Loobalee as Sales At A Glance
Jul|28|2008
As we enter August, we’ll see some strong Fall promotions as well as deep, deep discounts on Spring and Summer merchandise. We’ll help you keep track of the sales and find the best values.
Now is a great time to stock up for next year - at these prices, you can afford to take some risk and chance that the clothing will fit your children 6-9 months from now. As we watch the sale, keep in mind here are 3 different categories, each on different schedules:
- The major department stores lead the sales and are already offer 60-70-80% off. They will want merchandise off the floor by the end of August.
- Secondly, children’s specialty retailers, many of which are featured in this column, are primarily offering 40-60% off, with some 70% off opportunities. The stores will also push to move merchandise by the end of August, commencing with back-to-school. However, many websites will continue to offer sale merchandise until it’s gone.
- And finally, the smaller children’s designer boutiques are currently offering 30-50% off. Deeper discounts may not be seen mid-August or even September. Most boutiques will keep the merchandise on their floors through September, and even offer some deep discount racks into October.
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Current Sales
- American Girl
- Check out July’s month specials, where you can save 15 - 20% off selected current merchandise.
- New items have not recently been added to Sale Clothing. I’m watching for further reductions greater than 50% off. Even at 50%, the holiday dresses with accessories are a good deal as they should resell very well after they are completely retired.
- Abercrombie Kids
- Spring Sales - Save 30-50% on Boys and Girls in Clearance
- Note: This is the slowest moving sale! I’m beginning to think we won’t see further reductions.
- Baby Gap & Gap Kids
- “Give and Get” promotion coming up: August 1 -3. Get 25% off. You must have a code. Codes have been distributed to Gap/Banana Republic credit card holders. A great part of this sale, is that the Card Holder gets to select a charitable cause, to which 5% of your sales will be donated.
- New items added to Summer sale - now marked down to 30 - 70% off retail. If you have a code for the August 1 -3 Sales event, my advice is to try to use it on Sale Merchandise to get the most bang for code and buck.
- Crazy 8
- Watch the remaining Summer sales closely, this merchandise is likely to reduce further in the near the future. Right now, save 40-60% (occasionally more).
- Back-to-School deals priced at $5.99, $7.99 and $9.99
- Coupons are available promoting Back to School clothes. Save 20% through August 24th.
- If you aren’t getting Crazy 8 coupons in the mail, subscribe here.
- CrewCuts
- The Extra 20% off sale merchandise is no longer available on line. I would expect we’ll soon see further reductions on summer merchandise. Wednesday is a good day to check, as they generally make their markdowns on Tuesday nights.
- Shop in stores to take an additional 25-40% off all Summer Sale and Clearance items.
- Crewcuts receives their store markdowns each Tuesday after closing. So, Wednesdays are typically the best days to shop.
- Garnet Hill
- Get a sneak peak at upcoming Back-To-School savings, previewing July 30th.
- The site and catalog-wide semi-annual sale and clearance is now in progress. Save 30-70%. If you are lucky enough to find your sizes, you can get some great deals right now on last year’s winter/fall selections for back-to-school.
- Coupon sites, such as Retail Me Not, usually have codes for $10 off $50, $20 off $100, and $50 off $250.
- Sale of the Day for Girls: Two-way cargo pants. Also see Sale of the Day for Boys: Zip-Neck Pullover for Toddlers,
Cool Baby Clothes: Give Peace a Chance
Loobalee as Around the Web
Jul|27|2008
Blog Cool Baby Clothes shares what they find to be the keenest and hip clothes for children on the web. Here, they have a perspective on No War baby clothes, which you can find on Baby Wit. Here’s what they have to say about the graphic printed American Apparel tees:
Check out this awesome new addition to the Baby Wit website! No Star has made a new design for all of our pacifist, art lovin’ infants and toddlers.
While Cool Baby Clothes may offer some points of view different from ours, you may like their style. If you do, they update their blog pretty regularly, so you should add them your RSS reader.
Sales At A Glance: Thursday, July 24, 2008
Loobalee as Sales At A Glance
Jul|24|2008
The seasonal focus and promotions will shift by August 1. I’m already see the turn toward Fall promotions, such “2-for” back-to-school deals, and 20% - 30% off promotions. We’ll help you keep track of the sales and find the best values.
This shift also means deep, deep discounts are to be found on Spring and Summer merchandise. Now is a great time to stock up for next year - at these prices, you can afford to take some risk and chance that the clothing will fit your children 6-9 months from now. As we watch the sale, keep in mind here are 3 different categories, each on different schedules:
- The major department stores lead the sales and are already offer 60-70-80% off. They will want merchandise off the floor by the end of August.
- Secondly, children’s specialty retailers, many of which are featured in this column, are primarily offering 40-60% off, with some 70% off opportunities. The stores will also push to move merchandise by the end of August, commencing with back-to-school. However, many websites will continue to offer sale merchandise until it’s gone.
- And finally, the smaller children’s designer boutiques are currently offering 30-50% off. Deeper discounts may not be seen mid-August or even September. Most boutiques will keep the merchandise on their floors through September, and even offer some deep discount racks into October.
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Current Sales
- American Girl
- Check out July’s month specials, where you can save 15 - 20% off selected current merchandise.
- Abercrombie Kids
- Spring Sales - Save 30-50% on Boys and Girls in Clearance
- Baby Gap & Gap Kids
- Summer sale and clearance now marked down to 30 - 70% off retail. But, you will likely find deeper discounts by shopping in stores.
- Save 25% on “2-for” Back to School Deals at Gap Kids
- Crazy 8
- Watch the remaining Summer sales closely, this merchandise is likely to reduce further in the near the future. Right now, save 40-60% (occasionally more).
- Back-to-School deals priced at $5.99, $7.99 and $9.99
- Coupons are arriving in the mail promoting Back to School. Save 20% through August 24th.
- If you aren’t getting Crazy 8 coupons in the mail, subscribe here.
- CrewCuts
- Enjoy an extra 20% off on-line Summer Final Sale — enter EXTRA20 at checkout through July 25. I’m curious what will happen with the sale inventory on July 26?
- Btw…the blue and ivory versions of the Silk Posey Poof Skirt I’ve been watching is marked down from $229 to $128.)
- Shop in stores to take an additional 25-40% off all Summer Sale and Clearance items.
- Crewcuts receives their store markdowns each Tuesday after closing. So, Wednesdays are typically the best days to shop.
- Garnet Hill
- Get a sneak peak at upcoming Back-To-School savings, previewing July 30th.
- The site and catalog-wide semi-annual sale and clearance is now in progress. Save 30-70%. Check out the massive 70% off deals such as the floral girls cargo skirt for just $6.00.
- Coupon sites, such as Retail Me Not, usually have codes for $10 off $50, $20 off $100, and $50 off $250.
- Sale of the Day: Toddler petticoat skirt and matching tanks for little girls (43% off)
Is Disney Out of the Children’s Designer Clothing Line-Up?
Loobalee as Reviews
Jul|23|2008
Once a beloved brand on eBay, is the traditional Disney we know and love going the way of the Dodo? Are we “all Disney-ed out”? It seems that way, as Disney fashion has lately taken akin to its recent programming, as opposed to the classic characters that have stood the test of time. Since the Miley Cyrus craze has hit, there has been nearly no interest in clothing with the images of Mickey, Pooh, or the various
princesses have been extremely popular for so many years. But with this shift to live-action heroes, is the resale value of their clothing styles really worth buying them now? Probably not.
Being the 12th largest apparel company in the world, the Disney brand is able to promote just about however and whatever they want. Of course market demand comes into play, but market demand is primarily driven by Disney’s wildly successful Disney Channel. I’m a parent and my family loves the Disney Channel, but that doesn’t mean my kids obsess over the brand or that I thoughtlessly clothe them in this trend.
On a recent, disappointing trip to Target I noticed High School Musical, Camp Rock, and Hannah Montana themed merchandise all taking front row and substantial space in the Girls clothing section. Intrigued, I traveled the mall just to see how much Disney Channel merchandise I could find. At JC Penney, I could hardly find an item in the Girls department that wasn’t Hannah Montana. Have you heard that the Cheetah Girls branded clothing was the most successful launch of an apparel line in the history of Sears? Potentially only to be topped by its newly introduced Vanessa Hudgeons “Arrive Lounge” line? And, it will be interesting to see how far the Jonas Brothers branded apparel reaches.
What is most noticeable about all these clothes is that this new, trendy Disney brand clothing has severely decreased in its quality, which automatically makes the resale value near worthless.
Secondly, are these characters going to stand the test of time? Even though Miley Cyrus is being touted as a modern day Disney Princess, whose dreams of becoming a rock star and television star came true, she will eventually grow older and portray a much different persona than the bubbly heroine girls adore right now. Will she live happily ever after? This inevitable growth as a star and her to-be-determined future, in my opinion, makes the current clothes endorsed by her basically worthless, so why bother?
At Loobalee, we want to our customers to have access to the highest quality clothing available, and there are definitely Disney brands that are higher in quality out there. My family recently took a trip to Disney World, where we found lots of wonderfully crafted apparel by Disney, much better than you’ll find at your local mall’s Disney Store. And, on the market today you’ll find Disney Couture, Signature Disney, and Disney-themed Designer items such as those from Reyn Spoon, Icky Baby, Trumpette, and Lucky Brand to name a few. These are the types of exclusive clothes that have great resale value, continue to focus on traditional Disney themes, and should also stand the test of time.
Speaking of which, I’ve also noticed that while Americans are obsessed with “new” Disney, foreign countries are newly or still embracing “classic” Disney. This traditional Disney wear is now being promoted much heavier on the global market rather than in the U.S. because the demand is higher abroad. For example, a new concept, Disney Jeans (for kids)—which may be launching in U.S. this fall—is promoted and available at upscale retail and specialty boutiques in Europe and India. This “non-character” merchandise also is the type that makes for wonderfully resalable clothing.
So, Disney is not out of the game yet, it is just unfortunate that the response of audiences to their new branding is causing a surge of cheaply made and essentially worthless clothing. My prediction is that 2-3 years down the road, no one will want these clothes. Not only won’t you be able to resell them, you won’t even be able to give them away. It won’t be until that point, that those who eagerly purchase these items today will realize the wastefulness.
What do you think? Shouldn’t Disney primarily promote fashionable and quality clothes that will last through years to come?
Sales At A Glance: Monday, July 21, 2008
Loobalee as Sales At A Glance
Jul|21|2008
Deeper discounts continue moving into this week and additional Fall/Transition lines are debuting. For the best Back-To-School shopping sales right now, try Hannah Andersson and Gymboree & Crazy 8 (with coupon) — just 20-30% off, but better than buying full price.
Now is a great time to start scanning your local stores for great deals, such as 60-80% off, and stocking up for next year. Your local boutiques should be in full swing with Summer Sales too. I typically see the deep discounts at the boutiques closer to the middle or end of August, however. Some on-line boutiques, such as Tutti Bella, are already going low at up to 70% off.
Current Sales
- American Girl
- Check out July’s month specials, where you can save 15 - 20% off selected current merchandise.
- Abercrombie Kids
- Spring Sales - Save 30-50% on Boys and Girls in Clearance (this is the slowest moving sale I’ve ever seen!)
- Baby Gap & Gap Kids
- Summer sale and clearance now marked down to 30 - 70% off retail. But, you will likely find deeper discounts by shopping in stores.
- Crazy 8
- Watch the remaining Summer sales closely, this merchandise is likely to reduce further in the near the future. Right now, save 40-60% (occasionally more).
- Coupons are arriving in the mail promoting Back to School. Save 20% through August 24th.
- If you aren’t getting Crazy 8 coupons in the mail, subscribe here.
- CrewCuts
- The “Final” sale has started, and in this case, “Final” means no returns or exchanges on remaining sale merchandise.
- Shop in stores to take an additional 25% off all Summer Sale and Clearance items. Also, you’ll notice many items on sale in the stores that are not on sale on-line.
- Crewcuts receives their store markdowns each Tuesday after closing. So, Wednesdays are typically the best days to shop.
- Garnet Hill
- Get a sneak peak at upcoming Back-To-School savings, previewing July 30th.
- The site and catalog-wide semi-annual sale and clearance is now in progress. Save 30-70%. Check out the massive 70% off deals such as the floral girls cargo skirt for just $6.00.
- Coupon sites, such as Retail Me Not, usually have codes for $10 off $50, $20 off $100, and $50 off $250.
- Sale of the Day: Cargo shorts for little girls, $9.00 (66% savings)
Hurry over to the Tutti Bella $10 $20 $30 Sale
Loobalee as Around the Web
Jul|20|2008
Hurry - don’t wait! Check out Tutti Bella’s semi-annual sale and save up to 70%. This sale is ONLY good through July 26th - no exceptions.
If you’re unfamiliar with this popular children’s designer clothing boutique, you’ll also be interested in reviewing the great brands carried by Tutti Bella, such as Small Paul, Marese, Flowers by Zoe, Splendid Littles, Charlie Rocket, Tea Collection, Sorbet, and more!
It’s hard to believe you can pick these up for just $10, $20, and $30. These are huge savings! This is a great sale for buying ahead for next year or picking up a few extra wardrobe add-ons if you live in a climate with a lot of summer left.
Sales At A Glance: Thursday, July 17, 2008
Loobalee as Sales At A Glance
Jul|17|2008
I’m looking forward to opening day of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale tomorrow. I’ll be leaving the house at 5:15 a.m. to travel to the store closest to me in order to arrive before they open at 8:00 a.m. You can be sure I’ll be taking copious notes while try to pick up some deals and enjoy the day.
If you’re planning to be an early bird at the sale too, take a moment to prepare and read my post on 17 Tips for Success at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.
Making it even a bigger bonus week, is that Gymbucks redemption has started. If you are Gymbucks novice, there’s a bit of strategy and some tricks to optimizing your “Buck”. So, before heading off to shop, take a moment to review my tips in the following blog post series:
Using Gymbucks Part 1: The Rules
Using Gymbucks Part 2: The Strategy
Using Gymbucks Part 3: The Madness
Using Gymbucks Part 4: The Rewards
Additional discounts continue with most major retailers this week. Now is the time to seriously think about what you’ll need for your kids next year and stock up in advance. In the past, I have typically purchased about 1/2 (if not more) of everything I need a year in advance. I’ll even buy some shoes, such as flip-flops and sandals, which offer a bit fit flexibility.
Current Sales
- American Girl
- Check out July’s month specials, where you can save 15 - 20% off selected current merchandise.
- Abercrombie Kids
- Spring Sales - Save 30-50% on Boys and Girls in Clearance.
- Baby Gap & Gap Kids
- Summer sale and clearance now marked down to 30 - 70% off retail. But, you will likely find deeper discounts by shopping in stores (e.g. $2.99 and $3.99 deals) - and save on shipping too!
- Crazy 8
- Watch the remaining Summer sales closely, this merchandise is likely to reduce further in the near the future. Right now, save 40-60% (occasionally more).
- Coupons are arriving in the mail promoting Back to School. Save 20% through August 24th.
- If you aren’t getting Crazy 8 coupons in the mail, subscribe here.
