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Best Buy casts another employee in holiday campaign. view!
youtube.com/bestbuy0 - Jarice Brodie has done some cool things in his life. Next: Best Buyâs holiday campaign.
88 Comments
- Pyros7, on 02/03/2009, -0/+79As a sales associate I can say this isn't coming as a big surprise. We've been completely dead on most days since the Christmas season. No one's buying anything that isn't on clearance, they walk in and head straight for the $19.99 or 50-75% off racks, browse them for about an hour and walk out spending $40. If they find out something isn't on sale they ask me what I can do for them. When they find out I'm not allowed to dicker over the price of a shirt that's normally $65 and isn't marked down to $19.99 they tell me to put it back. Don't even ask about the credit lines I'm supposed to sell. People just laugh at the notion that they open another revolving credit account in this climate.
Complain all you want about the high mark ups on some items, but you can't run a store with millions of dollars of inventory, pay the employees & keep up on the rent by selling left over $175 cashmere sweaters for $29.99. Macy's isn't exactly TJ Maxx - we're not a bargain bin store, and that's what's going to sell in in the repression/depression years to come. We had a denim sale a few weeks ago...right now we have well over 100 pairs of $80 Calvin Klein jeans on clearance for $40 that I'm sure were not meant to last this long.
The article makes another good point. They desperately need to localize their buying. We're a small store in the mid-west. There's no reason for us to dedicate floor space to $300 men's designer jeans and pink/lilac colored dress shirts. Sure we sell a few, but not nearly enough to justify the inventory they're sending us. No one around here dresses like they're going clubbing in LA. Hell I can't get most of the men here to look at a yellow tie, it's just a little "too bold" for them.
There's one thing selling well though. Men's suits. Lots of people out there interviewing and it sounds like I'll be one of them soon. Hmm...maybe I should pick up a suit before I lose my employee discount. - coheedcollapse, on 02/03/2009, -2/+29In other news, a day after the layoffs execs were given a hefty bonus. Unfair? Very.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090203/BIZ01/ ... - inactive, on 02/03/2009, -0/+21Just out of curiosity I found these numbers.
>> Macy's 182,000 employees. <<
Starbucks 172,000 employees.
Microsoft 89,809 employees.
Apple 35,000 employees.
Digg 21 employees.
and Walmart 2,100,000 employees. - stagnate, on 02/03/2009, -1/+21dugg, good comment
- RunDiggMC, on 02/03/2009, -1/+18You know it's a rough time when stories like these seem to break every day and are barely even surprising.
- mandarin, on 02/03/2009, -1/+13So are you hitting the 50-70% rack for your suit?
- tizle, on 02/03/2009, -1/+12If you take all the bonus money that some of these executives received in the last year alone and divide it by $50,000 (Average middle class income), you will come up with the number of people who could have kept their jobs for another year. These executives earn big money, get high bonuses, travel in corporate jets and stay in five star hotels. This is really unfair on good, hardworking people who are the backbone of these companies.
- andyb747, on 02/03/2009, -0/+10"slashing" "cut"
that sounds like its going be a little violent - chrissku, on 02/03/2009, -0/+10I'm just gonna throw this out there.....
Is anyone else starting to feel like these corporate executives realize that we are in for many years of very tough times, so they're starting to loot these companies for as much money as possible before the music stops? It's like they know what's coming and are simply trying to save their own asses before the money is all gone. - bwhite, on 02/03/2009, -0/+10Is that a global number of employees or only in the US?
- diggface5000, on 02/03/2009, -0/+8Last week I needed to buy a plain white button-up work shirt and I looked at Macy's. What I found was a $60 shirt by an exclusive Macy's brand (not designer) that was cut no differently than a Target shirt. Why would I waste $60 on it? Raising prices isn't going to make more money...people will just buy less.
- alex3005, on 02/03/2009, -0/+8It could be 7000... or you could save 700 if you open up a store credit card with us today.
- mywhitenoise, on 02/03/2009, -1/+8What the *****? I was expecting your comment to be a generic satire on greedy business owners. This needs to stop!
- cubicledrone, on 02/03/2009, -0/+7Well the economy is clogging a toilet and we've been paying CEOs 400 times what their workers earn while firing everyone else for quite some time now.
Coincidence? Nope. Because when the opposite was true, say, back in the 60s when Americans had jobs and built *****, our economy kicked ass. In fact, given our tools, 1960 America would stomp the ***** out of 2009 America while eating a sammich.
I guess you lose. Big smile now. - dazparkour, on 02/03/2009, -0/+7It's interesting because Walmart has nearly 9 times more staff than ALL the other companies together.
That's HUGE. - ahhell, on 02/03/2009, -9/+16Well if Macy's lowered their ***** prices, they wouldn't have this problem.
- diggface5000, on 02/03/2009, -0/+6I used to work at a Macy's in college (about 4 years ago now) and it was the same then. The small town in FL I worked in was all clearance shoppers. We worked on base + commission then plus $5 for every credit card we opened. No matter how few hours I was scheduled, I still had the same sales goal to meet to begin receiving commission. I could rarely meet it. In juniors, the only full-priced thing people wanted were the suits because they were so cheap. We never had a full size run in stock and I always had to call the neighboring town store and send them there. So I agree with you, their buyers need to be paying more attention to individual stores, not regions.
- inactive, on 02/03/2009, -1/+7I had no idea Macys employed almost 200,000 people. Jebus, we really have become a service economy.
- inactive, on 02/03/2009, -0/+6My wife said the exact same thing last night. I wouldn't know, never set foot in one.
- intent, on 02/03/2009, -0/+6Really? I can't remember the last time I bought something from Macy's. Their products are second-rate but they charge premium for store brands.
- scribat, on 02/03/2009, -3/+8
Fail tank just shot you in the face with a ***** rocket.
...........ββββββ β ββββββ... ...........B===D
βββ β Fail Tank ββ βββ
βββββββββββββββΊ
βΌβ²ββ²ββ²ββ²ββ²βΌ - coheedcollapse, on 02/03/2009, -0/+5What the hell are you talking about?
For one, I don't agree that sports players or superstars should be paid the extravagant amounts of money that they are being paid.
Second, I have no idea how it's even a comparison. These people accepting these bonuses are in charge of a company that, through their actions, has been forced to lay off 7,000 people while for some reason the money is still rolling in as it always has been for them. Although they probably couldn't have kept those 7,000 people in full, recycling that bonus back into the obviously struggling company would not only show their unity with the remaining workers, but it'd just be the right thing to do.
Talent or not, it's a ***** move to accept money like this after 7,000 human individuals were tossed out to fend for themselves. Just like it's a ***** move to employ slave labor elsewhere in the world so that big guys over here can keep their money rolling in. Do you think that's an ok practice as well? - StevieJanowski, on 04/02/2009, -1/+61000 in the bay area alone. ouch!
- KIERANMULLEN, on 02/03/2009, -0/+5yeah but it is Macy's...?
has anyone here bought anything from Macy's lately? - wilhoitm, on 02/03/2009, -1/+6Why don't these companies have a rainy day fund?
- RomeyRome, on 02/04/2009, -0/+4That's cool if you like to step over clothes and children on the floor. At Ross anyway.
- inactive, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4 So very true.
I remember reading about a CEO raising the price for the chicken his company produced. The man is a billionaire. Would he take a pay cut to keep prices the same?
Nope.
So the price goes up and people buy less,the price goes up more,people buy less and it just goes on and on. ..And MR. fat cat at the top rolls in the green stuff. - SuperVepr308, on 02/03/2009, -1/+5Good insight, good post.
- jshhmr, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4I have NEVER bought anything at Macy's. I refuse to spend an extra 30-50% for something I can get elsewhere.
- bentman78, on 02/03/2009, -1/+5That's not their market. They'll adjust if they choose to. If you want cheap clothes go to target. If you want cheap name brand stuff go to Ross or TJ Maxx. No one is forcing you to shop at Macy's.
- RandoTheKing, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4They're also freezing executive raises at the call centers and removing semi-annual raises from supervisors/associates (They start at $10/hr - Pathetic move).
- d3dm, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4Macy's has no customers because times are tight and people are looking for bargains in other retail stores where they can stretch a dollar.
When you see the discount stores like Wal-Mart and Target start cutting heads, it's time to hunker down for a rough ride. - inactive, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4***** hittin the fan
- joelcass, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4The production of exaggerated, stupendous adjectives used in headlines is one of the only things that actually increases during a recession/depression - and all we can do is roll our eyes 0_o
- cubicledrone, on 02/03/2009, -0/+4For the same reason they do everything else: bad management.
- Phases78, on 02/03/2009, -2/+6Why are all the companies continuing to fire people during this recession? It's a damn downward spiral because of that. Fire a buncha people, so all that many more people can't spend money, so you then have to fire more, rinse repeat. It's the friggin' companies themselves that need to bite the bullet, take the hit, and ride this out - rather than try to push the pain further down. They're the only ones that can afford to take the hit and ride it out. Everyone is doing it. Prices are going up and people are getting fired, all because the companies don't want to feel the hit. But they're making it so much worse.
- inactive, on 02/03/2009, -0/+3pffft. you think? Just ask what Fuld did with Lehman Brothers when the ***** hit the fan.
- stagnate, on 02/03/2009, -0/+3*sigh
- andyb747, on 02/03/2009, -1/+4He is in the oval office......
....still trying to grasp the size of enormous pile of economic ***** Bush left behind - inactive, on 02/03/2009, -1/+4READ THE COMMENT again:
"Just out of curiosity...."
My comment does not suggest or imply ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING. - antime1, on 02/03/2009, -0/+3BS you are paying for name brand that is it.
- capnawesome, on 02/03/2009, -0/+3I wonder how many of these people were only working in retail because they already got laid off from a better job...
- Doubledown, on 02/03/2009, -0/+2Please tell me the tax payer will be paying $3 trillion for that.... It will give me more reason to run for office
- sHockz, on 02/03/2009, -5/+7i would expect nothing less when your charging $35 for a t-shirt at a department store.
- tizle, on 02/04/2009, -0/+2in my humble opinion, it is lack of regulation. I am glad that Democrats are in power. Traditionally, they put more regulations on big business. I hope they do the same here.
- BotchaMcCoola, on 02/04/2009, -0/+2Lockheed Martin needs that many just to cash checks from the chump taxpayers/China borrowers.
- publiclurker, on 02/03/2009, -0/+2And that's why they are losing money.
- inactive, on 02/03/2009, -0/+2 Yes it is unfair. I do wish someone had the balls to stop this from happening.
- inactive, on 02/03/2009, -1/+2 So typical...Greedy sociopaths.
Why is this allowed to continue? - PopcornDave, on 02/03/2009, -0/+1While I sympathize with your particular plight, Macy's and other retailers really have nobody to blame but themselves for a lot of this. When you have these huge sales at the drop of an excuse for a holiday, why would people pay full price for anything? They're going to wait until it's on sale. And with the huge discounts that retailers have offered for the past few years in an attempt to get people to buy their merchandise, people finally got wise and just waited out the retailers.
I'd be curious what, if any, the outlet malls have had on the impact of retail sales but you're right about the clothing selection. Macy's in the Bay Area seems to cater to the 20 something crowd and the 30 something crowd trying to stay in their 20's. -
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