Reply #3: Also the lag time of getting new inventory in [View All]

[Cal Carpenter]

I know someone that works as a (low level) buyer for a large retail chain. They spend half the year getting stuff that will be on the shelves for the holiday season. It take months to get all that set up - planning staggered shipments, routing through all the warehouses/distribution centers, marketing and so forth. New models and popular products are the focus.

This particular time of year tends to be one when stocks are lowest. Not only is the retail chain itself at a lull as far as quantity of sales, there aren't new models and products coming out at a high rate.

Companies in this day and age hate having a lot of stock waiting in the wings - it's a liability to them physically and on the books. That's one reason why post-holiday sales are as important to them as pre-holiday sales. So they just don't have as much on hand.

Not likely indicative of anything deeper than that.