Burbank gaining ground in Tri-Cities retail derby.

Glendale retailers suffer steepest drop-off in business

After playing a distant third to Glendale and Pasadena for years in the competition for Tri-Cities' sales-tax dollars, Burbank is finally catching up.

The State Board of Equalization's latest sales-tax reports show retail sales in Burbank totaled $1.177 billion in 1991. That represented a decline of $14 million from the city's $1.91 billion in retail sales during 1990.

But despite that dip, Burbank gained ground on its neighbors to the east -- Glendale and Pasadena -- because those two cities suffered much more severe drops.

In Glendale, retail sales fell $118 million, from $1.710 billion in 1990 to $1.593 billion in 1991. That was more than eight times the $14 million drop suffered by Burbank.

Meanwhile, Pasadena retail sales were off $27 million in the same period, from $1.754 billion in 1990 to $1.726 billion in 1991.

Manhattan Beach-based Alexander Haagen Co. claims Burbank's retail sales will pick up sometime around mid-1993.

Haagen in recent months has moved tenants into more than 800,000 square feet of the 1.3 million square feet of retail space it has completed at Media City Center in downtown Burbank. The mega-mall is on East Magnolia Boulevard, east of Interstate 5. Shopkeepers at Haagen's new center will compete heavily with neighboring Glendale and Pasadena retailers in the upcoming Christmas season, said Fred Bruning, Haagen's chief of staff.

"Ikea opened its stand-alone store a year ago and tells us it's their top-producing store. Bullock's opened this year and tells us their store here had the fourth-highest sales volume in the chain last month," Bruning said.

Sears, Mervyn's and Sports Chalet also have stores in the Media City Center. Haagen eventually will build 300,000 square feet of retail space, in addition to the existing 1.3 million square feet, on an adjoining two blocks, Bruning said.

"But first we need to find users or developers to build the 1.1 million square feet of office space approved for the development," Bruning said.

Haagen has entitlements to develop a four-phase, 1.2 million-square-foot office complex at Media City Center. That office component, originally scheduled to be built by Homart Development Co., would bring scores of office workers into the area, and it's expected they would spend millions of dollars each year at the adjacent retail shops. But Homart ditched the downtown Burbank project to concentrate on its office project in Glendale.

Retail sales at Burbank department stores increased slightly from $147 million in 1990 to $148 million in 1991, after furniture warehouse retailer Ikea had been open only a few months. "We think we're responsible for that growth and more when the 1992 retail sales data are totaled," Bruning said.

By comparison, Glendale's department store sales revenues dropped from $263 million in 1990 to $248 million in 1991. Pasadena's department store sales dropped from $198 million in 1990 to $191 million in 1991.

Sales figures aren't available for the first six months of 1992 because state tax authorities require nearly seven months to process sales-tax data. Thus, changes in sales trends cannot be validated as they happen.

Glendale's retail sales downturn could hurt Glendale-based Brand Development Corp. and Howard Platz Group, the main partners in The Exchange, a two-block retail/office project on the east side of Brand Boulevard, just north of Broadway. It also could hurt Donahue Schriber, the Newport Beach-based company that owns and manages the 1.36-million-square-foot Glendale Galleria, said retail specialists.

Even so, Jeanne Armstrong, executive director of the Glendale Redevelopment Agency, said her group and the Glendale City Council are spending millions of dollars to attract retailers.

"We're putting $2 million toward the expansion of the former 90,000-square-foot Buffums store to a 180,000-square-foot May Co.," Armstrong said.

Buffums closed down its entire chain and went out of business in spring 1991. Armstrong said she expects the new May Co. outlet to post sales of $40 million per year, which would be a dramatic improvement from Buffums' best-ever year of $9 million.

Despite Glendale's recent drop in retail sales, three development partnerships are working on redevelopment proposals for the two blocks south of The Exchange office/retail complex, Armstrong said. She wouldn't mention names.

Further north, on both sides of the 200 block of Brand Boulevard, the redevelopment agency has earmarked $7,500 to paint 26 business exteriors.

Meanwhile, in another sector of the retail scene, motor vehicle sales in the Tri-Cities dropped 23.8 percent, from $651 million in 1990 to $406 million in 1991. Glendale dealers' autos sales fell 22.3 percent to $271 million from $350 million in 1990.

Over in Pasadena, auto sales dropped last year to $197 million from $250 million in 1990, according to the California State Board of Equalization.

But some dealers report an improvement this year. Low interest rates and manufacturer-sponsored financing and rebates have helped Tri-Cities' auto sales rebound a bit this year, said Miguel Ocasio, sales manager for Glendale-based Los Feliz Ford. He said year-to-date sales volume is up 10 percent from last year.

Restaurants also struggled to hold their own in all three cities. Pasadena took in $175 million at its 357 eating and drinking places in 1991, compared to $173 million from 344 establishments in 1990. Glendale had 346 bars and restaurants that rang up $142 million in 1991 sales, compared to 333 bars and restaurants that rang up $136 million in sales the previous year.

Burbank had 245 restaurants and bars that took in $123 million in 1991, compared to 242 that took in $117 million in 1990.

Pasadena Housing and Redevelopment Agency Director Bill Reynolds said he expects Pasadena to hold its own in the Tri-Cities battle for retail sales taxes.

"One Colorado Place (a redevelopment project) has signed up Gap, Crate & Barrel, Banana Republic, J. Crew, Il Fornaio, Victoria's Secret, A.B.S. and Johnny Rockets," Reynolds said.

An eight-screen AMC Theater, La Salsa restaurant and Russell's cafe are already open there. One Colorado is scheduled to hold its grand opening in mid-November.