Christmas stock in July

[Wolfboy]

Ok I need to rant a little about something that’s been bugging me for a while now, shops that start selling Christmas items earlier and earlier ever year. Last weekend a co-worker of mine went shopping in BHS in Glasgow and spotted a display of Christmas stock, Santa sweets, rapping paper, gift tags etc.

Is it just me or is July a little to early to be displaying this stuff? I mean who is seriously going to buy any of this in the middle of summer with Christmas still six months away? Apart form some panicky fool who thinks that if they don’t get it now stores will sell out, ok that’s it off my chest now, anyone else’s care to share their thoughts?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

My thoughts, at least as they relate to big-box stores doing the same thing: Welcome to retail. The stores wouldn't be putting their seasonal stuff out so early if people weren't buying it as soon as it went out.

The same thing happens just about every time we put seasonal items out absurdly early: People pass it by, comment "Gee, you have your Christmas/Valentines/Easter/Halloween/Feast Of Maximum Occupancy items out already? That's ridiculous!", and then start browsing it, find things they like, and buy them.

Another thing to consider, at least with my store: It just gets busier for us from here to Christmas. I believe in the next two months, we are going to be re-setting planograms in all departments to get ready for the holiday rush. And the Christmas section has some of the worst planograms to set. Especially the ornaments. Having to fill an entire side of a gondola with peghooks spaced closely together, and then having to re-space them as necessary where stuff doesn't fit, is unbelievably hellish.This year we've also got an extra project going in which luggage is going to be moved to the hardlines side of the store so that shoes can be expanded. That's going to happen sometime in September I think.

And then starting toward the end of September going on into November freight's going to increase to get ready for The Day (Black Friday).

So I guess what I would say is some of that Christmas stuff gets put out so early because it has to be. I wouldn't mind seeing us wait until October to start getting that stuff out, but given our staffing and all the stuff that has to be done all at once, we can't wait that long.

[Android Kaeli]

I'm actually surprised my store starting putting Christmas and Halloween late this year, usually by now all of the displays for Halloween are out and half of the Christmas stuff is up.

Although I've been getting people asking for Christmas in March. o.O

[Ree]

We haven't seen any Christmas stuff yet, which is unusual, but we got our Halloween stuff this week.

It was actually put into storage until after Labour Day, but that's when it will come out.

I did laugh a bit because one of the boxes of ghost themed ornaments said, "Seasonal Item. Rush to Sales Floor." Yeah...I'll get right on that. :p

[BarbieGirl]

I have to admit, I did some of my christmas shopping today, but that's just cause Target had their 75% off toy clearance. Just be glad you don't work in some places in Leavenworth Washington, they sell christmas stuff year round (and to make matters worse, they have to play christmas music the whole time too!)

[blas]

What disappoints me is that usually by the end of June or beginning of July, the back to school stuff is already out. Imagine those poor kids having to go shopping with their parents and look at the signs and displays, they aren't even a month into summer vacation yet, and they already have to start thinking about going back to school :( It also doesn't help when you get a summer that's more like mid to late Apri or May like we've been having lately.....

On the plus side, by the time July rolls around, usually the tank tops and shorts and summer stuff is already on sale or sometimes even on clearance. Since there are still a few days here and there around here where it's actually halfway seasonable weather, I got some great deals on some tanktops when I went shopping two Fridays ago. It was depressing, though, to see all the sweaters and jackets already on display, though :(

[Becks]

Feast Of Maximum Occupancy

I love you. :love:

[Rapscallion]

We tend to put our first christmas offerings in the September/October catalogue (ours lasts for two months), but we're in wholesale and have to work well ahead of the demand in the shops.

The actual merchandise tends to arrive late October, though.

Rapscallion

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Could it be? Could it be my company has finally sprouted a brain? I think I just saw a :pigfly: go whizzing past.

In the company newsrag, in an article about all the crappy fall stuff that has begun to arrive:

Halloween and harvest products are planned to stay up through the end of October--pushing the appearance of Trimmery items to the first week of November rather than late September.

If this is true, that's great in that I won't be sick of looking at Christmas chotchkies before Thanksgiving even hits. However, it means the end of October into the beginning of November is going to be absolutely hellish, since we'd be setting the entire Trimmery department all at once, instead of half in September and the other half after Halloween.

[Food Lady]

I love you. :love: You're gonna have to fight me for 'im. :D

[gremcint]

I hate the reverse, last year I tried to buy a pool noodle near the end of July I think it was and noone had them at all.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

You're gonna have to fight me for 'im. :D

I insist on hair tossing.

[Becks]

I insist on hair tossing.

As an added bonus, do you prefer mud, jello or pudding?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Mud or pudding. Surprise me. Those two are much more tasty.

[Becks]

Works for me. :D

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Looks like the company newsrag was a damn lie after all. We had a huddle last week and I asked my manager if it was true Christmas items were going to go up in November.

She said "Nope, as far as I know that's supposed to be up September 16."

I told her about the blurb in the newsrag and she said she'd check into it. Yesterday I noticed on our truck manifest that some kind of holiday lights were coming in. Could be for Halloween, could be for You Know What. Guess I'll know when I get in to work.

And we have three trucks next week, which is extremely rare, so I figure the You Know What stuff is going to start coming in if they're sending us three trucks instead of our normal two.

[blas]

I have you all beat.

Radio stations playing Christmas music in July/August.

That's what happened last weekend here. There were sure some really upset people around these parts.

What really happened was a radio station went under and they just filled the voided air-time with christmas music until they could pull a battery operated box to play music on Tuesday.