Article: Buying, selling, inventory patterns changing due to economic challenges.

By Marc Barnes

For manufacturers of casual furniture, the front end of this retail season came down to less and fewer.

Less inventory.

Fewer containers.

Early buy orders were down sharply this year because of the economic downturn that rippled through the credit markets, slammed consumer confidence and left less for retailers to borrow to replenish inventory, which led to delays or cancellation of container orders from overseas.

Given those factors, industry observers say the ability to deliver quickly, from stock already in place in warehouses in the states, may well mean the difference between profit and loss this season.

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