Rob Hayes, Coming Home's General Merchandising Manager on our 365-day-a-year fair pricing.

First, it's not necessarily a sale.
"In almost every case, 'White Sale' just means the product was priced too high in the first place. And second, it's not just white that's sold — and the sale is not limited to domestics and linens. Plus, most retailers care more about selling skills than about product knowledge. When I was at a major department store as a buyer of sheets, even I didn't know what combed cotton was."

19th-century marketing run amok.
Actually the white sale was invented by John Wannamaker of Philadelphia department store fame in 1878, primarily to keep linen-makers employed. Today, almost every week heralds a white sale in one U.S. town or another. Sometimes a reduction in price means the towels or sheets were marked up higher than the regular price. For others, it's a way to get rid of old or discontinued items eventually headed for the "final sale" table. The white sale may not represent the best time for consumers to buy. And according to National Purchase Diary data, what sells is rarely white.

Why not price things fairly every day?
Hayes continues, "At Coming Home, we believe in fair pricing all year round, 365 days a year, and therefore do not feature such sales. However, from time to time we do offer Overstocks; and reduce discontinued merchandise — after alerting our catalog customers first that we're doing so. That way, you have a chance to complete an ensemble before the soon-to-be-discontinued items are no longer available.

Another "wrinkle" on the White Sale concept. 
These days, a lot of retail stores use home products — and textile products in particular Ñ as 'loss leaders' for their stores. In other words, to drive traffic into the store with the hope that people will come to purchase those products and others which carry higher margins, on the way out."

Common sense.
Hayes concludes, "This is the climate we're competing in, but at Coming Home, we're trying a different approach. We're trying not to sell based on price alone, but instead by offering products that have problem-solving features and excellent quality. Quality and features at a fair price. We subscribe to Lands' End's Principles of Doing Business — and embrace those same high standards."