By Suzanne Kapner
The excess inventory piling up at large retailers such as Target Corp. TGT -0.45% ▼ and Walmart Inc. WMT -0.22% ▼ is proving a boon for liquidators and other companies that help dispose of the oversupply.
Liquidity Services Inc., LQDT 4.39% ▲ Xcess Limited, B-Stock LLC and other companies said they are seeing a glut of kitchen appliances, televisions, outdoor furniture and apparel that major chains are trying to clear out. In many cases, the liquidators are picking up pallets at the ports or from a warehouse without the goods ever hitting store shelves and are selling the items to smaller retailers and individuals who resell them online.
“What’s unusual is the large retailers may not ever touch the products,” said JD Daunt, chief commercial officer of Liquidity Services, which operates online marketplaces. “They are asking us to get in front of this earlier than in the past. There is an unusual amount of excess inventory, and it’s affecting so many retailers at the same time.”
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