Clothes & shoe shops still left with half stock after sales

PALMA
CLOTHES shops have closed this summer's sales season with “over 45 percent of stock unsold” said the small traders' association, Afedeco, in Palma yesterday.

The association said that its members were simply unable to sell the items they had in store and that shoe shops meanwhile, were left with 40 percent of their stock. Afedeco added that the surplus had accumulated in spite of the fact that businesses had adjusted the amount of items they have been buying in recent years, precisely in order not to be left with unwanted stock.

The association had conducted interviews with members on their views on the outcome of the sales period. Although not all had been pessimistic, Afedeco reported that 78 percent of those surveyed said the sales had been “bad” or “very bad”, 12 percent claimed it had been “not so good” and 10 percent thought it had been “normal.” No-one, however, described the sales as having been “good.” Shops located in the outer areas of Palma appear to have fared worse than those in the centre.