Retailers Staying Open Late, Offering Bigger Discounts
Severe weather in the northeast has really hurt retailers this holiday season. Stores are staying open
later tonight and offering even further discounts to lure in shoppers.
Target Corp. extended its hours to midnight Dec. 21 through yesterday. Borders Group Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys R Us Inc. also kept stores open longer. Best Buy Co. offered some DVDs for half off and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., a men's clothing chain, deepened discounts to at least 50 percent.
"We didn't intend to do everything, and now we're doing everything," Jos. A. Bank Chief Executive Officer Neal Black, 54, said Dec. 22 by telephone from the company's Hampstead, Maryland, headquarters. "We'll be slugging right down to the last minute."
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Walmart, the world's largest retailer, will keep most of its 803 discount stores and its Sam's Clubs open until 8 p.m. today, two hours later than last year, said John Simley, a spokesman. Amazon.com Inc. extended by one day, until Dec. 21, its cutoff for standard shipping.
If you decide to brave the malls today you will see big discounts, although the selection may not be that great. Stores have really reduced inventory this holiday season.
