Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

[LargoWinch]

Great business plan! :rolleyes:

By JIM DWYER
Published: January 5, 2010

In the bitter cold on Monday night, a man and woman picked apart a pyramid of clear trash bags, the discards of the HM clothing store that reigns in blazing plate-glass glory on 34th Street, just east of Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.

At the back entrance on 35th Street, awaiting trash haulers, were bags of garments that appear to have never been worn. And to make sure that they never would be worn or sold, someone had slashed most of them with box cutters or razors, a familiar sight outside H & M’s back door. The man and woman were there to salvage what had not been destroyed.

He worked quickly, never uttering a word. A bag was opened and eyed, and if it held something of promise, was tossed at the feet of the woman. She said her name was Pepa.

Were the clothes usually cut up before they were thrown out?

“A veces,” she said in Spanish. Sometimes.



...

Full Article Here.

Follow-up article: Update: H & M Says It Will Stop Destroying Unworn Clothing.

[c1ue]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

A terrible waste to be sure.

But on the other hand I wonder how attractive H & M clothing would be if recent purchasers wearing their new $100 duds discovered the homeless person on the corner was wearing the same thing?

Clearly a fashion statement in the making.

[due_indigence]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

supply destruction.

[BiscayneSunrise]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

But on the other hand I wonder how attractive H & M clothing would be if recent purchasers wearing their new $100 duds discovered the homeless person on the corner was wearing the same thing?

Clearly a fashion statement in the making.

Heroin chic, don't ya' know.

The first time I went to Italy I was struck by how well the homeless people were dressed. Then it became clear: They were getting the hand me downs from some of the most well dressed people in the world. ;)

[D-Mack]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

others call it fashion and want thousands for that

[metalman]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

others call it fashion and want thousands for that

'sorry... not my style'.

[Slimprofits]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

I've worked the loading dock / warehouse for a few big box retail stores and they all had the same procedure.

If an item is damaged, they tell you destroy it in the big ass trash compactor. Retail employees have been fired for taking these items instead of destroying them.

[chr5648]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

supply and demand, brand pricing power

[marvenger]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

wow economics apparently concerns itself with the distribution of scarce resources and yet pays bare attention to such conundrums as profit, the driver of capitalism, not being able to be realized when there is abundance. They should just say economics is the study of maintaining a healthy profit margin for a well controlled and stratified society

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

They should just say economics is the study of maintaining a healthy profit margin for a well controlled and stratified society

Economics is the expounding of myths that disguise the financial arrangements of the elite and justify the continued payment of salaries to the economists.

[LargoWinch]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

They should just say economics is the study of maintaining a healthy profit margin for a well controlled and stratified society

marvenger, do you think it is true in this particular case? What about selling the goods at deep discount instead of destroying them? Would that not be a "win-win" scenario?

[Milton Kuo]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

marvenger, do you think it is true in this particular case? What about selling the goods at deep discount instead of destroying them? Would that not be a "win-win" scenario?

Being that the clothes being destroyed are "brand-name," selling the goods at a deep discount cannot be allowed since that gives buyers insight into the actual cost of the good. Selling the goods at-cost or at an extreme discount to MSRP could condition customers to reject the prices typically paid.

[marvenger]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

expanding further, in the 50's an average working man could support a family in the suburbs, people were wonderign what they were going to do with all their spare time in the future. now a middle class working couple struggles to do this. What on earth happened, and i don't think you can blame it entirely on the fire economy. Well I guess i'm just suggesting that abundance for all isn't profitable in capitalism, therefore it doesn't occur despite the technological ability for it to occur, and yes i'm aware that capitalism can claim a significant contribution to this technology but by no means the entirety and the really big breakthoughs are often very loosley associated capitalism unlike the subsequent profits they generate. Please don't interpret me as being black and white against capitalism, i interpret all this goose that laid the golden talk on the site as being black and white for capitalism. Not being black and white is extremely difficult but i'm doing my best.

[iyamwutiam]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

Being that the clothes being destroyed are "brand-name," selling the goods at a deep discount cannot be allowed since that gives buyers insight into the actual cost of the good. Selling the goods at-cost or at an extreme discount to MSRP could condition customers to reject the prices typically paid.

Excellent insight

[Rajiv]

Re: Retailers destroy and trash unsold goods.

Also relevant to your argument are two posts of mine and the associated links

http://itulip.com/forums/showpost.php?p=142361

and

http://itulip.com/forums/showpost.php?p=142346

The first deals with the impact of inflation on working class incomes, and the second with how the uber rich avoided the inflation trap. In my view, both are an artifact of the FIRE economy, and the weakening of social structures that had been built up after the Great Depression.

In the 70's, when the income differentials between the top 10% and the bottom 60% were not as great as they are today, luxury goods could not have the same price differential that they can command today.

You should look at the work of Emmanuel Saez - and account for the fact that he uses standard CPI to calculate real incomes - IMO, Shadowstats CPI numbers are much more relevant, and should have been used.