Both ended up offering deep discounts in an effort to move a significant level of inventory still left on the floor at Christmas time.

FORBES: Retailer/Designer Collaborations -- The Missing Link

Removing the inventory buildup left real final sales up at only a 1.1 percent annual rate, well below the satisfyingly round headline number of three percent.

FORBES: Forth Quarter GDP--Not As Good As It Sounds

Las Vegas comes in second, with its bloated inventory of homes left over from the housing bubble.

MSN: Orlando, Las Vegas top the list of emptiest U.S. cities

During the Great Depression, Maritz was left with inventory but no customers, so its then-CEO decided to try to sell the inventory as a form of reward to long-term employees.

FORBES: Maritz Can Boost Your Profits By Making Customers, Employees More Loyal

Three years of government controls have left developers with higher debt and unsold inventory.

WSJ: Income-to-Housing Price Gap Narrows in China

Loans to build condo towers were common during the boom years, but the downturn left Florida with an enormous glut of inventory and financing for new development evaporated.

WSJ: Miami Condo Loan Marks Milestone

That left UBS and other brokerages with a growing inventory of securities on their books that they needed to sell.

FORBES: Another Legal Headache For UBS

In fact, they ultimately left many consumers disappointed due to lack of sufficient inventory to meet the demand.

FORBES: Retailer/Designer Collaborations -- The Missing Link

Speaking of Japan effect, although many companies are now shrugging it off, saying sales in Japan are not material, or not materially affected, and supply issues have been managed by sourcing elsewhere, the quake and tsunami occurred with only three weeks left in the quarter, and the merchant market and inventory were sufficient to carry most companies through.

FORBES: Pieces Of The Q1 Puzzle Fall Into Place