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A cool tale of hot sale!
Brand-chasers are out with shopping bags once again. Reason: apparel giants are clearing out the season-old stocks on discount sale. And this gives shopaholics a reason to rush to the bazaar.
Welcome to the sale bazaar! Winter goes and grand brands get an idea to make a hot sale out seasonal stock clearance! Off-this much and off-that much, is enough to see customers queue up at discount counters with a seasoned reason — a brand buy at half the price is worth a try! Rush-sh-sh-sh!
Brand-chasers are out with shopping bags once again. Reason: apparel giants are clearing out the season-old stocks on discount sale. And this gives shopaholics a reason to rush to the bazaar.
Winter wears and even regular apparels brands are out with lucrative offers. Exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) started the sale run and now multi-brand outlets (MBOs) along with regular city-based stores are out with some bargain or other.
Sale ka khelCall them the sale brigade. These buyers are on a shopping mode once these sales are on. Meet Rajeev. He waited for his favourite jeans which was priced at Rs 1,400 to be available in Rs 500 off in exchange of an old jeans.
He further waited till it was available 57 per cent and he picked it up finally when the bargain was 50 per cent plus 20 per cent (60%) and bought it in Rs 560. Nice deal.
Methodology
“Our funda is that fashion changes every three months. So these are for stock clearance and promotion of brands. These bargains motivate customers to buy more as they get very good deals. With end of season like these we focus on the top-line figures — which means volume. But, in these we don’t achieve the bottom line (margins),” says Dinesh Singh store manager of Pantaloon at Sahara Ganj.
They have registered the increase of more than 30 per cent during this offer which started from January 15 and will end after a week.
Class vs masses
One of the motives behind the bargains is to cater to all class. Be it any top international brand, none can afford to be limited to a particular class. With sales like most off them try to woo prospective borderline buyers. Says manager of Planet Sports: “Ours are high end products. By offers up to 50 per cent to own products of Reebok, Nike and Speed.”
Offers like buy one get one or three shirt for Rs 799 or 50 per cent off on winter wear makes apparels affordable for medium class buyers too, says Dinesh.
Clearance or promotion
To mark the Republic Day, Suri Exclusive gave an offer of flat 26 per cent off on winter wear. It is to clear the winter stock as fashion changes every season and it even blocks space. Rest they are up with some promotional offers. Most of the MBOs and EBOs are up with schemes like discount coupons and vouchers throughout the year but in change of seasons such schemes help them clear the stock. Like in Levis the offer is 40 per cent and 10 per cent more if one brings any old jeans.
“Ours is a premium brand and in this sale we have put selected assorted sizes which are left from the regular lots throughout the year. They are very much in fashion, just they are in assorted sizes and styles,” said the floor executive of Levis.
Check it out
“If they have to have such sales, then they should put up some makeshift trail rooms too. Just look at all the trail rooms. It’s so embarrassing to stand up in queues to try a jeans,” muttered one sale-shopper to the other. But while he complained he did not budge from the queue and waited for his turn to trial room. It is this situation that the shop attendants find difficult to manage-except being extra courteous to the customers asking them to wait ‘just a little sir or madam’.
Glittering offers
With gold price going sky-high Tanishq is up with 5 – 25 per cent offer on diamond jewellery. “This offer is to promote diamond and motivate gold buyers who are shying away from buying due to high prices. Diamond is always in fashion and people hesitate these products are not at all defective and can be exchanged here at the same promotional price.”
