Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Sure, Fashion's Night Out is fun—but does it really serve its original purpose? Remember way back in the beginning (two whole years ago) when it was created to encourage urge consumers back into stores and get them to spend money in the middle of a scary recession. Now, Cathy Horyn is arguing that the stores don't need the extra sales boost, and that in all actuality all the extra man hours and security means the night costs more than it rakes in. We must have missed a memo somewhere that the recession ended and retail is thriving, but we have to agree that all the free food and giveaways possibly add up to less than stellar profits. [Racked NY]
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45409886/racked_placeholder.4.0.jpg)