Long Island

Retailers Thursday began trying to salvage what has been a lackluster 2013 holiday shopping season, offering deep discounts on everything from clothing to toys, televisions and Christmas decorations. Shoppers seemed to be responding; many parking lots at Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, for example, were nearly full by noon Thursday. Some stores on Long Island opened as early as 5 a.m. "The post-holiday business has become an important part of the equation," said chief retail analyst Marshal Cohen of the

Forecasted demand is always wrong, and not every supplier delivers on time.

I was reminded of these widely accepted truths of inventory planning while working with a prospective Direct Tech customer in Long Island a couple weeks ago.  The company's head of logistics was probing the capabilities of our tools, and we got into a 20-minute discussion on Safety Stock versus Safety Time.

Littleton, Mass. -- Dover Saddlery Retail, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dover Saddlery, will open its first New York store, in Huntington (on Long Island), on April 19. The store, which will evoke the look and feel of a premium equestrian stable, will...

We reported last week that lululemon's CEO Christine Day said "You'll either offer promotions or not, and we're in the ‘not’ category." But lululemon is in the Yogabowl Warehouse Sale at Nassau Coliseum, an epic shopping event exclusive to those within range of Long Island from Feb. 1 to Feb. 3. Obviously this sale is different than your regular sales rack. There will be tailgating. There will be snacks. It's in a coliseum. The intent isn't to get bodies in the store, like promotions and sales attempt to do, so technically the company is getting rid of its surplus items without diluting the "no sale" branding.

A few days ago, when Sandy was just a silly-sounding Frankenstorm, the marketing appeal was undeniable. Graphic Image staged a "Franken Storm Franken Sale" that invited customers to take 15 percent off the leather diaries, notebooks and everything else on its website, and sports retailer Owner Operator had its own FRANKENSTORM discount. Urban Outfitters blasted out its offer in an email that declared: "This Storm Blows But Free Shipping on All Orders Doesn't." Even Singer22, a trendy Long Island clothing retailer in the path of the storm, hawked its hurricane sale with the slogan: "Every cloud has a silver lining."