AREA SEES REJUVENATION IN WAL-MART.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Ready. They crammed together as if about to run a marathon. Set. They clutched their checkbooks, eyed other shoppers and jockeyed for the prime spots at Wal-Mart's main entrance early Tuesday.

Go! And off they went. Hundreds of Angelenos scurried for shopping carts, past the friendly smiles of store employees, grabbing free muffins as they headed straight for the merchandise of the city's first Wal-Mart.

The nation's first urban, two-story Wal-Mart officially opened its doors shortly before 9 a.m. at the Panorama Mall, unleashing shoppers who had been waiting as long as three hours.

It was a moment much anticipated by residents and some business owners, but dreaded by others familiar with Wal-Mart's reputation for driving the business out of small businesses.

``This is beyond what I ever thought would happen. It's going to be a very busy day,'' said store manager Bernie Seaman, who estimated it took 25 minutes to squeeze the opening crowd through the main entrance.

Boost to community

But it wasn't just a good day for the newest Wal-Mart. Many area leaders, merchants and residents viewed the opening as a new day for the community of Panorama City, a signal that the economic tide was turning, that pride was returning.

The retail chain, with 100 stores in California and hundreds more nationwide, is expected to boost business in the area, which had been on the decline since the 1992 closure of the General Motors plant and more recently the shutdown of Panorama Mall's anchor store, The Broadway in 1996.

``The area was definitely going downhill,'' said Flip Smith, immediate past president of the Mid-Valley Chamber of Commerce and public safety chairman of the Valley Economic Alliance.

The area, said Smith, got a bad reputation from an increase in violence in the early 1990s, including the gang shooting of a 16-year-old honor student inside the mall and slayings in the parking lot.

But now with Wal-Mart, the same businesses that lost customers in recent years will benefit from the customers drawn to the large retail store, he predicted.

``We all hear the war stories where Wal-Mart goes into small towns and takes all the business, but we have a million and a half people in this Valley,'' Smith said.

``So even though their destination is Wal-Mart, they're still going past the mall and smaller stores, and I think there's still a market for the small touch.''

Teri Wagoner, a Sylmar resident who came to the grand opening, said it had been years since she'd stepped foot inside the Panorama Mall because of a decline in the area, but for a month now she has been anxiously awaiting Wal-Mart's opening.

``With the Wal-Mart name I feel safe,'' said Wagoner, a nurse. ``We're excited about it being in the city of Los Angeles itself and in an area that was so depressed for so long.''

Mark Hansen, part of the managing group for Pay-Less Shoe stores, said the foot traffic from Wal-Mart will be a plus for both the Pay-Less store located in the mall and the store within a block of the mall on Van Nuys Boulevard.

``We're definitely going to excel,'' Hansen said. ``I think in the long run it's going to be very positive because you're talking about customers that come as far as downtown.''

Merchants worried

But while many of the Panorama Mall merchants welcomed the new store, some nearby shopkeepers on Van Nuys Boulevard weren't as jubilant.

``We had talked about closing this store and moving. Now it's going to happen,'' said Juan Gonzalez, manager of Panorama Camera. ``It's going to affect the whole area, no doubt.''

A central concern among some smaller merchants is Wal-Mart's ability to buy in huge quantities and offer low prices. According to Gonzalez, a roll of film costs $2.35 for large retail stores to buy, but $4.39 for Panorama Camera.

By midmorning Thursday, Aiv Lin, a sales clerk for T-Shirt Land, had noticed fewer customers in her store. Usually, the store serves about 60 customers a day, but by 11 a.m. only four had wandered in.

``During the weekend, we really make good money, but now we're scared and afraid,'' said Lin. ``Wal-Mart is big business. You can't compete with prices at Wal-Mart.''

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Photo

PHOTO A sea of shoppers awaits the grand opening Wednesday of the L.A. area's first Wal-Mart, located at the Panorama Mall.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News