Retailers have already started reducing their expectations for this quarter. They say holiday shopping markdowns put pressure on profits. "And in that process, they might have got some sales but they didn't get the profits off those sales because of discounts and so they got people in the store, but they were not buying other merchandise."
Fresno state marketing professor, Dr. William Rice says times are tough. But he believes retailers like Fresno-based Gottschalks...whose losses last year were in the tens of millions ... will pull through. "I think the issue is not if they're gonna go away, it's what they're gonna do to survive."
It's a question echoed by shoppers ... with no clear answer in sight. "It's sad. It's really sad. I hope the economy gets better soon. Are you optimistic? You have to be. If you don't have hope it's going to get better, it could be very depressing."
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