Clearing January inventory

Q: I’m having a hard time clearing all my extra holiday inventory since January sales have been slow so far. What are my options so I can make room for new spring goods?

A: Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of good choices left, besides further markdowns. One alternative (and this is a last resort) could be as follows. If you have reasonable range of merchandise that would be salable in fall ’13, pack it away and submit it as on-order for next season. I offer this as an option but I don’t really like the idea. Progressive markdowns are probably the answer. Aside from that, make sure you’re not in this position in the future by putting a good inventory plan in place. Best of luck.