the.com/summer sales
retail's confession that half of what it made was overpriced in the first place.
means a seasonal period of discounted retail pricing, usually held after the spring/summer collections have had their run, to clear inventory before new stock arrives.
from rooted in retail cycles from department stores clearing seasonal stock; in france and other eu countries it became so economically significant that governments legally regulate when sales can start and end.
france regulates datesfrench law fixes exact start and end dates nationally
originally warehouse clearancebegan as literal excess-inventory dumping, not marketing events
online shifted timingdigital retail blurred fixed seasonal windows into near-constant discounting
for instance
les soldes france — twice-yearly, government-regulated, dates set by law since 1906
harrods summer sale — london institution running since 1894, still queued for physically
japan's aki bargains — department stores like isetan hold structured end-of-season clearances