Word: discounting
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...sagging profits, which fell to $3.8 billion in the third quarter of 1990, down from $5.3 billion in the April-June period. Most major banks waited until last week to lower their prime rate a half- point, to 9 1/2%, even though the Federal Reserve Board had dropped its discount rate, on which the prime is largely based, two weeks earlier. Many banks are raising service charges for everything from automated-teller-machine transactions to penalties for bounced checks...
...primary but won an estimated 60% of the white vote. Joseph Hampton sees nothing alarming in this. From his post-emigre perspective, he feels Louisianians have taken down their COLOREDS ONLY signs and muffled their racial prejudice under thick, soothing layers of courtesy. When he visits Wal- Mart, the discount chain store, there are professional "greeters" at the door. The auto dealer in nearby Monroe made a toll call to find out if he was satisfied with a repair. Strangers always wave at him as they drive by. "One man, a white man, he had a whole...
Established discounters like K Mart and Wal-Mart say they are not threatened by the new invaders, partly because they perceive the discount centers as out- of-the-way places, suitable mainly for tourists or big-haul shopping. Luxury department stores like Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue take an elitist approach -- at least publicly -- and shrug off the challenge from outlet malls. "The competition in retail is always fierce, but our customer is not attracted to an outlet mall," says Carol Sanger, vice president of the Federated and Allied Stores chain, which includes Bloomingdale's, Burdine...
Then there's the "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" approach. Sears and J.C. Penney have placed catalog outlet stores at the new discount malls. Upscale Ann Taylor has two clearance centers at megamalls. Even Saks opened its first outlet in Philadelphia's Franklin Mills. "Like it or not, it's the wave of the future," says Sid Mayer, Saks' senior vice president of merchandise liquidation. "Traditional department stores were in trouble anyhow. Discount malls are a necessary evil...
...Often the latest styles and fashions are not offered at outlets, and there may be a limited selection of sizes. Nor is getting a bargain guaranteed. Prices have edged up as yesteryear's bare-bones outlet stores full of seconds and irregulars have given way to today's fancy discount malls full of first-quality goods. "You need a good eye or you can still get ripped off," observes Mark Trainor, an Austin computer salesman browsing for clothes at San Marcos Factory Shops, one of two outlet malls off the interstate highway between San Antonio and Austin. "There are good...