As I have noted here before, calendar sales in Australia are stuffed. It is next to impossible to sell them at full price thanks to early discounting by selected groups. The result of their early deep discounting means that many stores are left with stock – like mine. We still have 40% of our 2006 calendar sock. We’d discounted by 75% and the stock is slowly moving. Customers are smart tough, they hover over the stock and mutter to each other that it will be another 50% off next week. They’re right of course because who wants their stock with 2006 calendar stock in February. Every other seasonal item has gone great guns this year -cards, back to school, diaries. Calendars are the only bad story. I’d say this is because calendars is the one category where there is absolutely no difference in range – so the majors make price the difference and ruin the category for everyone.