BAGGING BARGAINS PROGRAM HELPS MALLS, CUSTOMERS.Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer Hoping to lure buyers for one last post-Christmas blast, malls kicked off Shop L.A. County on Thursday, drawing healthy crowds at the 19 participating locations. The city-sponsored event, which unites retailers throughout the county, comes at a peculiar time, with massive Christmas sales still fresh memories for most buyers. But that didn't seem to matter to shoppers who hunted down rock bottom prices Thursday. Sweet deals of up to 70 percent off were all Elmir Lutz and Debbie Kim needed to whip out whip out or off Verb to take (something) out or off quickly and suddenly: she whipped off her glasses the plastic. Cruising Westfield Shoppingtown Topanga in Canoga Park, the two friends lugged bag after bag from Pottery Barn Pottery Barn is an American-based chain of home furnishing stores with stores in the United States and Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. History and the Disney Store. ``We weren't even going to buy, but we couldn't pass up the bargains,'' said Lutz, a Calabasas registered nurse. ``I'm a crazy shopper, so I'd buy at full price, but when there's a discount like this, I buy a lot more.'' Kim, arms laden with Disneyana, seemed a little stunned stun tr.v. stunned, stun·ning, stuns 1. To daze or render senseless, by or as if by a blow. 2. To overwhelm or daze with a loud noise. 3. that she'd already filled the back of her van. ``I don't even know what happened,'' the Tarzana homemaker said, a touch of marvel in her voice. ``I didn't even mean to buy anything, and I've been back three times already.'' Announced by Mayor James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California last week, the five-day program aims to aid an ailing mall-based retail sector. ``Integral to the mayor's economic recovery efforts was to get people out of their homes and back into their malls and restaurants,'' said Joy Chen, director of economic recovery for the Mayor's Office. ``The holiday season was down for many retailers, so we did a study on how we could help them.'' In the countywide study, Chen's office discovered the third week of January to be a crucial one, where retailers typically close out as much merchandise as possible after final winter inventories and prior to receiving spring items. The program took shape as a massive sidewalk sale, with merchants uniting to share the limelight as they shed leftover items. ``Consumers are seeking value, so the lower-priced retailers like Target and Wal-Mart did much better over the holiday season, broadly speaking Adv. 1. broadly speaking - without regard to specific details or exceptions; "he interprets the law broadly" broadly, generally, loosely ,'' Chen said. ``During Shop L.A. County, consumers can find those values, so this is a win-win for retailers and consumers.'' Deal-savvy shoppers like Lutz and Kim have become the norm, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Jack Kyser, chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the for the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Economic Development Corp. ``Retailers shot themselves in the foot,'' he said. ``Major department stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. like Macy's and Robinsons-May offered a special sale every week (during the holiday season), so consumers have been educated not to buy at full price, so they just wait for the sale. And in a slowing economy, people focus more on those deals.'' Such was the case for Sandy Cullen, a Tarzana stay-at-home mom. Pulled in by the discounts, she ended up picking up several items at the Topanga mall she hadn't planned on buying. ``I didn't want to pay full price around Christmas, so I waited and found it now,'' she said, searching the racks at Forever 21. ``Do I need this? No, but I'll buy it for the sake of the economy. I was on my way out and I got snagged snag n. 1. A rough, sharp, or jagged protuberance, as: a. A tree or a part of a tree that protrudes above the surface in a body of water. Also called sawyer. See Regional Note at preacher. b. A snaggletooth. when I saw the signs.'' Other local participants, such as the Antelope Valley Mall The Antelope Valley Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Palmdale, California. Opened in September, 1990, its buildings take up around 1 million square feet (90,000 m²). Its physical main building, parking lots, and ring road businesses encompass an area a bit less than 0. , Panorama Mall, Westfield Shoppingtown Promenade in Woodland Hills and the Sherman Oaks Fashion Square anticipate even larger crowds over the weekend, up over modest traffic on initial weekdays. ``Actually, I'm surprised,'' said Shana Yao, marketing director for Fashion Square. ``There are lots of people out there and the stores are saying people are asking about the discounts. I guess they had such a good experience saving over the holidays, they're coming out and looking to continue it.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Debbie Kim of Tarzana, left, and Elmir Lutz of Calabasas carry bags stuffed with bargains to their cars Thursday. (2 -- color) Shoppers take advantage of city-sponsored sales Thursday. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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