Sell, stow or dump? Clothing stores wrestle with mountain of stock

A mountain of apparel stock has been piling up in stores, distribution centers, warehouses and even shipping containers during months of COVID-19 lockdowns.

As retailers reopen around the world, they have to work out how to get rid of it.

Ciara Lee reports

Forget fast or slow fashion.

For now it's ground to a halt.

That's left a mountain of stock piling up in stores, warehouses and even shipping containers.

As retailers reopen around the world, they have to work out how to get rid of it.

Their main options are to keep it in storage, hold sales, or offload it to "discount" retailers like TJ Maxx.

They could also move it to online resale sites.

None are ideal, and all options are damage-limitation.

Real estate company Knight Frank told Reuters it had fielded inquiries for excess stock, for over 6 million square feet of short-term warehouse space in Britain.

Storage is an option for evergreen "basics" that are not tied to one particular year.

Underwear, t-shirts, chinos and classic shoe styles can be stored until demand bounces back.

Chains including British retailer Next and German sportswear brand Adidas have stashed away unsold basics.

But stowing away piles of inventory is risky.

One fashion executive said "This is not like wine that gets better with age.

Your inventory gets worse".

UK-based Parker Lane Group helps companies manage excess stock and advises on selling off-price.

It says it is currently processing at least double its usual volume of up to 1.5 million items per month.

In the U.S., clothing sales fell nearly 90% in April from the same month in 2019.

And British clothing sales sank by 50% compared with an already-squeezed March.

Retailers hope that easing of measures will see shoppers return to stores, eager to unleash pent-up demand.

But there's no guarantee that sales will rebound any time soon.

Many stores are expected to pursue a combination of holding sales as well as selling stock to off-price retailers.

Some may hold off on any major decisions so that they can gauge their performance as customers gradually return.