Clothing "Undertakers"

[Grant Barrett]

Logical but interesting use of "undertakers" to refer to discount
clothing stores that sell "unsold inventory that the designer has to take back
from retailers, plus leftover quantities that never went to any store at
all, and samples, which are prototypes used to show to fashion editors and
buyers, especially on the runway."

New York Observer,  http://www.observer.com/pages/frontpage6.htm

"You have your choice of how to get rid of what is left over," explained
Mr. Konheim. You can usually find Nicole Miller clothing at all three
stores. "I don’t care how clever you are, you can’t make the supply fit the
demand. There is always something left over. It sticks in your throat to
throw it out, so you give it to what we commonly call the undertakers."