Merchants in China say that American and European orders for the holiday season, for which sweaters are just starting to be knit, have fallen by as much as 30percentt.
He said Target had cut back on orders for the holiday season, but still has "some concerns about clearance markdown exposure, given what might happen here in fourth-quarter sales".
When CIT disclosed its troubles in July, many retailers were preparing their orders for the holiday season and were terrified by the prospects of a sudden and uncontrolled Chapter 11 filing, said Ellen Davis, vice president of the National Retail Federation.
Just before New Year's, the small printing shop in the basement of the Ministry of Trade and Industry was booming -- and not because of a sudden surge in orders for the holiday greeting cards that are a social imperative here.
So where is the same overwhelming outrage over bacon in the U.S.? Why aren't we outlawing pepperoni and canceling those orders for the holiday ham?
Mr. Morris, who covers mall-based clothing chains, said several had begun cutting back on orders for the holidays, lest they become stuck with racks of unsold sweaters and coats.
When retailers starting make orders for this year's holiday, manufacturers had little choice but to agree to further price cuts.
Some children might not get the Lego toys on their Christmas list as the Danish toymaker said it might have trouble fulfilling orders for the peak holiday shopping season.
Kate Coultas, a company spokeswoman, wrote to a reporter in January, "Internet sales through jcp.com posted strong growth in December, with significant increases in traffic and orders for the key holiday shopping periods of the week after Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas".
