NEW YORK - Retailers may be dreading the approach of the school year almost as much as kids, given a forecast for the worst back-to-school season in seven years.
Even with projections for almost no growth in purchases, stores have to make a tough decision. If they don't raise prices, higher costs for everything from cotton, to shipping, to labor in China will eat away at their already narrow profit margins, says Burt Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a New York retail consulting firm.
Purchases during the July through September season - retailing's second biggest after Christmas - may grow at the slowest pace since 2001 this year, climbing 1 percent to $38.5 billion, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.
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So yesterday was a lie, then? (Sigh)
And I'll give you one guess why I'm posting the photograph (hint: sitting in the carriage).
A workers at a Florida Target store sets up a back-to-school display. Target and other discount retailers are expected to gain business from cash-strapped parents this year. (Phil Coale/Associated Press)
