Bridal shop threw out formal gowns despite charities' request

[Sherman A1]

Shortly before bridal shop Priscilla of Boston closed last month in Edina, Pam Philipp said she asked store officials to donate couture gowns to her Mendota Heights nonprofit.

Philipp runs Operation Glass Slipper, which provides dresses to high school prom-goers who might not otherwise be able to afford to go. Philipp said she contacted Priscilla of Boston three times but never received a response.

So when she found out Tuesday that dozens of dresses worth thousands of dollars each were thrown in a garbage bin over the weekend, she was shocked. Philipp and others say there were plenty of better disposal options.

"That just makes me ill. They could have donated them to a good community effort," Philipp said. "It's just very bad business practice."

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_19665018

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. The Workers Spray Painted them Pink before putting them in the trash

At a local branch of Priscilla of Boston that was closed down on December 30, male workers destroyed remaining stock by spray-painting it pink and then tossed it in the trash.
Nearby store owners and customers were appalled to see designer bridal gowns, made by the likes of Vera Wang and worth thousands of dollars, vandalised and carelessly discarded outside the bridal retailer.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2082163/Designer-wedding-dresses-spray-painted-graffiti-closing-bridal-store-Priscilla.html#ixzz1ia5JqB00

[quakerboy]

3. Those were not for you, you silly not rich people

How dare you presume, what with your unearned entitled feelings. Simply atrocious behavior.

[Cooley Hurd]

4. This is a perfect example of the sickness of Capitalism

"Can't afford it? I'd rather destroy it than give it away."

[Snake Alchemist]

9. It seems like in Capitalism you'd want the tax break. nt

[HughBeaumont]

5. Cue the defenders of this practice in 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . .

There was something like this on DU2 about a year ago when H & M threw tons of clothes out and tagged them before doing so. Just shameless how people can defend this. And I don't want to hear "ill fitting" . . . these gowns can be altered.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Okay, but then why did they spray paint them before throwing them away?

I think they were just angry that they were closing down, and didn't want anyone - not even the very poor - benefiting from their closing down.

Frikkin' ridiculous!!!

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. Its a National Chain too

they are all gonna close but the Boston one is the one that d this
was reported

The Boston one is the mother store.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

8. Ok, but I don't get the spray-painting of the dresses. nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

11. Its because

the workers and the owners have been on DU3
and wanted to act accordingly.

LOL

[Fumesucker]

12. +1

[Sarah Ibarruri]

19. LOL! Ahem! You know what it does remind me of? When they throw out milk to keep the price higher.

A shame that the poorest of the poor are not allowed to avail themselves of it.

[LeftinOH]

10. They were most likely 'written off', then damaged (with spray paint) so that

they could not be re-sold elsewhere. From an accounting perspective this sort of makes sense. From a practical perspective, they could simply have been de-labeled and then "mysteriously disappeared". It is a ridiculous waste, but this is not uncommon.

[Snake Alchemist]

14. Would the write-off be more than the charitable donation deduction? nt

[jeff47]

13. Most likely they weren't the store's to give

Presumably the dresses were "returned" when the store went out of business. Meaning they were now owned by the distributor or manufacturer, not the store.

When you return something to the store, the distributor/manufacturer often doesn't actually want the goods back, and asks the store to destroy them. Back when I worked at a home improvement store, a lot of perfectly good stuff went into the trash compactor.

You'd think "hey, why not donate the stuff?". Well, the national distributor/manufacturer doesn't want to vet a whole lot of charities just to dispose of merchandise they've written off. For all they know, the charity will turn out to be an arm of the KKK. So the stuff goes into the dumpster.

[Snake Alchemist]

15. Interesting perspective. Thanks for the information. nt

[NNN0LHI]

16. My late father used to pick up donated pastries from a grocery store for the local pantry

As he would roll the stuff out of the store to put in his trunk there were always people wanting some of it. Being good hearted he couldn't say no. He gave them all they could carry.

The store discovered that people were bringing some of the stuff back into the store and asking for their money back and the store stopped giving it away for the needy and began sending it to the landfill.



Don

[Sherman A1]

17. Granted that does happen &

I have seen this occur. It can however be dealt with by a simple line through the UPC barcode, disabling the ability to scan the item is a clear indicator that product is no longer viable merchandise.

[Snake Alchemist]

18. I have to wonder if this is an American phenomenom. Depressing. nt

[mainer]

25. Geez. People can be such jerks.

It only takes a few to ruin it for everyone.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

24. thanks. I was wondering about that.

[mainer]

20. Maybe an agreement with the manufacturer?

The store might not have a choice in this matter. I imagine it's in the contract that unsold merchandise must be destroyed before disposal.

It reminds me of the book business, where unsold books MUST be pulped, rather than stored, because of tax issues.

[Snake Alchemist]

21. How does that tax issue work? nt

[mainer]

22. If publishers keep unsold books in storage, it's considered an asset

and it gets taxed. If they get pulped, then they can be declared a loss.