Stingy discounts drag out Herberger's going-out-of-business sale

Herberger's going-out-of-business sale has been extended to the end of August.

The sale that started April 20 was supposed to last 10 to 12 weeks.

However, according to a spokesperson for Great American Group, one of the liquidators for the Twin Cities' stores, the company is still trying to empty its many warehouses around the country, so truckloads of merchandise are still being delivered to stores.

Others think there may be another reason for the extension — discounts so small in the beginning that many potential customers never returned.

Susan Nielsen of Minneapolis shopped the sale on Day 1 and came away empty-handed. "That's not much of a liquidation," she said coming out of Herberger's Southtown location.

Initial discounts were 10 to 30 percent, which is considered modest for a going-out-of-business sale at a department store that typically had 30 to 50 percent off sales. When Macy's started its closing sale in downtown Minneapolis, discounts were 20 to 40 percent.

As of this week, Herberger's discounts were 50 to 70 percent. Some shoppers don't think that's significant enough after 10 weeks into a quitting-business sale.

Irwin Jacobs, founder of Jacobs Trading in Hopkins, which specializes in opportunistic buying, said starting at 10 percent off was "ridiculous."

"If people think the discounts are too low, they don't come back," he said.

When Sam's Club had its closing sale in St. Louis Park earlier this year, the discounts started at 25 percent, then 50 percent and finally 75 percent. "There was nothing left but dust by the time they closed," Jacobs said.

Jerrod Smith, who works for Great American, said customers coming in a couple of months ago were not happy with the discounts.

"They were used to deeper discounts from Herberger's, so the 10 to 20 percent dragged it out," he said. "Now that it's 50 to 70 percent off, traffic is building."

John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633