Educated consumers are going to have to find somewhere else to shop and brides are going to have to find somewhere else to run now that Syms and Filene's Basement are going out of business.
The discount clothing retailers plan to complete going-out-of-business sales — at 25 Syms and 21 Filene's Basement stores — by the end of January.
Marcy Syms, the majority shareholder in Syms Corp. and daughter of the company's founder, said in a statement, "We have been faced with increased competition from large department stores that now offer the same brands as our stores at similar discounts."
Richard Jaffe, a retail analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co., told The Wall Street Journal that Syms and Filene's Basement fell victim, in part, to flash sales sites.
Ben Fischman, chief executive of Rue La La, told the Journal, "If I were an off-price, brick-and-mortar discount retailer, I'd look at the flash-sale channel and be concerned."
While weaker players may have reason to look over their shoulders, other brick and mortar discounters such as TJX Cos. and Ross Stores don't have a lot to worry about from the flash sellers, according to Mr. Jaffe.
"They performed well in 2011. They performed well in 2010. They've performed well pretty consistently since the meltdown in 2008," he told the International Business Times.