Maven: Amazed by Amazon

Speaking of the cold, you know how The Business Press Maven turns a whiter shade of pale when any weather front is used as an excuse for anything. While the freakishly warm weather is obviously having some modest effect on sales of winter jackets, hats and gloves, there is a bigger cause behind apparel's uneven Christmas, one the business media are taking note of as a separate factor but not relating to clothing sales.

Electronics, including all manner of flat-screen televisions, initially were seen as the hot product of the season. And they were, according to Women's Wear Daily and others. But the business media seem to have been distracted by the fact that electronic retailers did poorly, so heavy was the discounting. They have not made the connection that the sales numbers, while having little effect on the bottom line of such retailers as Circuit City(CC Quote) and Best Buy(BBY Quote), affected business at various apparel retailers. Holiday dollars are being spent on flat screens instead of tube tops. When you can stay home wrapped in surround sound, who needs clothes? It's enough to make a guy want to pull a foot out of the grave.