In the US this week I have seen plenty of shops with 2019 calendars on display. Staff tell me they are selling, that people are seeking them out. I have seen them in stationery as well as card and gift shops. The range is usually close to two metres wide and at least a metre high. They have fashion calendars as well as the functional including the family and business planner formats.
One store owner told me that July 1 is their kick-off date for calendars. They said being the start of the last half of the year it made sense that it is the kick-off. When you think of it like that it does.
The challenge in Australia is our retail business overheads are considerably higher. This means we need a faster turn of stock per square metre, thereby meaning we have less capacity for a slow burn for more than six months with calendars.