As you might remember, I was confounded by the retail sales numbers last week. The number was higher than I expected, especially for apparel which was +2.8% from January.
Today the clouds parted and all became clear. Turns out the culprit was inflation. The apparel component in the consumer price index was up 1.3% for the month of February. I'm not 100% sure WHERE the prices were up, since it sure seems like apparel prices where I'm looking are falling... or at least discounted by huge amounts.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
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Patty,
I have a slightly unrelated question!! With retailers like Walmart Target etc... I am presuming they had very favourable trade credit terms (I am not even sure if this is the right term.. being able to pay for their purchases from the manufacturers with very little payment upfront or with very little interest on a deferred payment) Have these trade credit terms changed (possibly not for Walmart) for some of the smaller retailers ??? and if they have how big an issue is it??
Dylan
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