Non-stop sales are planned for the rest of the year in shops which are set to re-open after the coronavirus lockdown wrecked an entire season for fashion retailers.
Analysts believe there could be as much as £15billion-worth of stock which needs to be sold, meaning there will be ‘wall-to-wall’ sales until January.
Clothing shops were forced to shut in March, just after stocking up on fashion for spring and summer.
An industry insider told The Guardian that warehouse storage space is more than 90 per cent full, meaning retailers have reportedly been storing summer fashion in railway sidings and on former Ministry of Defence land.
Non-stop sales are planned for the rest of the year in shops which are set to re-open after the coronavirus lockdown wrecked an entire season for fashion retailers. Pictured: A closed Topshop store in April, after the lockdown was imposed
M&S’s price cuts will be as much as 50 per cent in what the outlet is billing as a ‘rainbow sale’. Ten per cent of the store’s takings will go to NHS charities.
Already, the firm is advertising online price cuts of up to 30 per cent on items including men’s shirts and women’s footwear and linen.
However, some shirts are being sold on the firm’s website with price reductions of nearly 50 per cent.
Topshop, Miss Selfridge and French Connection are also advertising discounts of up to 50 per cent, though some items of clothing are listed with even bigger reductions.
Some women’s vests being sold on the Miss Selfridge website are advertised at just £3, down from the normal price of £10.
Some M&S shirts have price reductions of nearly 50 per cent online, while Top Shop are advertising jeans for £15, down from £42
French Connection also has sales on its website. Some vests are being sold for as little as £3, down from £10
French Connection are also selling men’s shirts at just £18, down from £45.
And Topshop have women’s jeans on sale for as little as £15, down from £42.
Debenhams are also advertising 30 per cent sales, while New Look and Moss Bross have at least 25 per cent discounts.
Next, which revealed profits of £600million last year, has warned it could lose as much as £150million because of the shutdown.
Retail analyst Richard Hyman told The Guardian: ‘I think there will be wall-to-wall promotions for the rest of the year.’
HM are also advertising big price reductions online. They’re selling a knitted wool jumper with more than 52 per cent off the original price of £24.99. A red dress is also being sold for £21, down from £34.99
Next have also got online discounts. One dress is on sale for £35, down from £139
Analysts believe there could be as much as £15billion-worth of stock which needs to be sold, meaning there will be ‘wall-to-wall’ sales until January. Pictured: Sales advertised at M&S’s Oxford Street store in January
He estimated that between £10billion and £15billion worth of spring and summer clothes are sitting in shops and warehouses.
He added that it may be ‘really hard’ to persuade people to part with their money in the difficult economic circumstances which have seen millions of people laid off or placed on the Government’s furlough scheme.
Sofie Willmott, a retail analyst at GlobalData, also told the outlet: ‘The level of discounts is going to be massive [when stores open].’
The expert added that firms such as Ted Baker could face a particularly difficult challenge in the post-lockdown environment because they specialise in smart clothing for events and office wear, all of which are now less in demand as people work from home and events continue to be cancelled.
A denim boilersuit, also sold by Next, is just £17, down from £58
John Lewis is also set to embark on further fashion discounts, even though it has just ended a 30 per cent-off deal.
Primark may also be planning to offer buy one get one free deals when it returns to the high street, according to industry insiders.
Non-essential stores are expected to start opening next month, but retailers will need to continue to enforce social distancing.
In Spain, authorities blocked retail outlets from heavy discounting as part of efforts to prevent large crowds forming after the country’s lockdown was partially lifted and retailers in the UK fear that similar measures could be imposed.