美国国家公共电台 NPR--Clothing stores have a major problem on their hands: Too many things

Clothing stores have a major problem on their hands: Too many things

Transcript¹

Major clothing stores have been receiving too many wrong items this year thanks to shipping² turmoil³, messy ordering and rapid changes in tastes and trends. This means lots of discounts.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Clothing stores have a major problem on their hands. They have too many things. And it comes at a time when many shoppers are tightening⁴ their budgets and wondering if they really need that new pair of gym shorts. NPR's Alina Selyukh reports.

ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE⁵: If you've been to a clothing store lately, you might have noticed it - full racks, price cuts, promises of particularly good holiday sales.

(SOUNDBITE OF AD)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Black Friday deals, Black Friday deals...

SELYUKH: This one's a JCPenney latest.

(SOUNDBITE OF AD)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: ...And boots and coats and boots and coats.

SELYUKH: And actually, coats and shoes aren't even the biggest stars of this year's sell-off. It's kind of regular stuff. Brian Ehrig is with the consulting firm Kearney.

BRIAN EHRIG: We've really seen it across the board. We're talking tops, bottoms, sleepwear. All of those products are really seeing quite a glut⁶.

SELYUKH: A glut of inventory⁷, as in some big chains found themselves with extras - extra colors, extra sizes and styles. For instance, Levi's ended up with too many jeans, GAP with too many hoodies, Kohl's with fleece and pajamas⁸.

CRISTINA FERNANDEZ: Like, Nike's been discounting shorts and T-shirts and sandals.

SELYUKH: Cristina Fernandez is an analyst⁹ at Telsey Advisory¹⁰ Group. She says Nike for a while was flagging inventory concerns but kind of, like, no big deal. And then this fall, the tone got much more urgent.

FERNANDEZ: They usually tend to downplay, I say, you know, when there's things to be concerned about. And they did not. So (laughter)...

SELYUKH: Nike executive Matt Friend told investors¹¹ the biggest issue was clothes in the U.S. market.

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MATT FRIEND: We effectively have a few seasons landing in the marketplace at the same time.

SELYUKH: In any year, clothing stores do this tightrope¹² act, trying to predict trends months in advance. And think back on recent pandemic years. First, in a blink of an eye, it was all stretchy pants, pajamas and house dresses. Clothing stores were empty, going bankrupt - then a shopping boom. Retailers¹³ hit the gas pedal, ordering more and more. Just as suddenly, travel and parties and the return to office changed everything again.

EHRIG: A lot of the things that people have been wearing over the last couple years are not the same things that they're wearing now.

SELYUKH: Through it all, shipments from Asia have seen lots of disruptions. Many stores worried about another mess and decided¹⁴ to take no chances on this holiday season. They've been ordering ahead even earlier than usual. And that's how you get the Nike problem with summer, fall and winter orders all kind of here at the same time, some too late, some too early. Add to all this rapid soaring inflation.

FERNANDEZ: It added to a confluence¹⁵ of events of, you know, getting some inventory late, orders that you didn't really need and then consumer demand slowing.

SELYUKH: Spending on clothes is expected to decline this holiday season. Inflation has hit clothes much less than other products. Prices are up about 4% compared to a year ago, actually falling for the past two months. Adam Davis works with retailers as a managing director at Wells Fargo. And he says stores are deciding what to do with their excess stockpile of clothes.

ADAM DAVIS: They could discount it and kind of lick their wounds and maybe buy less going into next year. They can pack away the inventory. And if it's evergreen¹⁶, meaning it's a white T-shirt or whatever - kind of staple¹⁷ item. Or they can move it to a discount chain.

SELYUKH: Or all of the above, which in the end means probably widespread deals for the holidays. Whether people decide they actually want more clothes is a whole other thing. Alina Selyukh, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF DENNIS BERRY AND STUART CROMBIE'S "BARGAINS GALORE")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

3 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

4 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

7 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

8 pajamas   

n.睡衣裤

参考例句：

• At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。
• He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

12 tightrope   

n.绷紧的绳索或钢丝

参考例句：

• The audience held their breath as the acrobat walked along the tightrope.杂技演员走钢丝时，观众都屏住了呼吸。
• The tightrope walker kept her balance by holding up an umbrella.走钢丝的演员举着一把伞，保持身体的均衡。

13 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 confluence   

n.汇合，聚集

参考例句：

• They built the city at the confluence of two rivers.他们建造了城市的汇合两条河流。
• The whole DV movements actually was a confluence of several trends.整个当时的DV运动，实际上是几股潮流的同谋。

16 evergreen   

n.常青树；adj.四季常青的

参考例句：

• Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的，被叫做常青树。
• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。

17 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。