In June, when we started to get our fall merchandise in the store, it sold at a very fast rate.

The fall merchandise, it said, will be pushed in a television advertising campaign, the chain's first in many months.

Since the stores are currently stocked with new fall merchandise, this is a good time to ask retailers about their directions.

This time of year, when you want to make room for fall merchandise, the American tradition is to run a sale.

And we were clearing through some fall merchandise that did not sell well.

The situation was rapidly becoming untenable because of the need for fall merchandise.

She said pent-up demand for apparel is likely to show up in better sales with the introduction of new fall merchandise.

"But if earlier shows help get the clothes into the store on time - say, by Aug. 30 for fall merchandise, it's great."

The American stores were facing a crisis because suppliers had refused to ship fall merchandise on credit.

Prices on selected fall merchandise will be slashed about 30 percent the moment it reaches the racks.