COOL FOR SCHOOL DISCOUNTERS TOP PARENTS' MUST-SHOP LIST; DEPARTMENT STORES RUN SECOND.

Byline: Pam Park Staff Writer

Southern California discount stores will give department stores greater competition for back-to-school shopping this year, according to a new survey.

Some 44 percent of Southern California families with school-age children will do the majority of their shopping in discount stores this year, compared with 34 percent last year, according to a Deloitte & Touche Shopping Outlook Survey.

``Consumers are still going to the mall for their back-to-school needs, but discounters have made significant inroads,'' said Tony Cherbak, partner with the consumer products group of Deloitte & Touche, a national professional services firm.

``Quality and pricing is a value quotient that is extremely important to consumers,'' Cherbak said.

Denise Gavron of Northridge was shopping at the Granada Hills Target store for a specific kind of notebook her son needs for his eighth-grade class.

``I take it for granted that prices would be better here than at a department store or office supply store,'' she said. ``I do check around to find the best price.''

Darla Agajanian of Santa Clarita was looking for clothes that would conform to the dress code at her children's private school.

``I've got four kids to shop for. When you buy in volume, you look at the price,'' she said. ``Target has everything you need except birdseed.''

Susan Kooden of Northridge agrees. Target and other discounters have the shorts, T-shirts, underwear and school supplies she needs for her two boys. Kooden says the convenience is more important to her than the price.

Although the survey shows more back-to-school shoppers going to discounters than department stores this year, shopping malls, which combine the survey's department store and specialty store categories, still get the bulk of the business in Southern California, Cherbak said.

Last year, department stores were the venue of choice. Target and other discounters have made inroads because of marketing efforts and their product offerings, plus a little complacency on the part of the department stores, Cherbak said.

Pam Rucker, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, said she didn't agree that department stores are complacent, because they have too much competition. However, some analysts suggest that department stores may suffer from a certain ``sameness'' in their product mix because of consolidation of ownership, she said.

The organization's nationwide research shows discount stores racking up greater gains overall than department stores.

``Discounters are the preferred one-stop shop for back-to-school,'' Rucker said.

Discounters offer the convenience of having all the staples in one store, but malls are usually the source for high-end brands, she said.

The Deloitte & Touche phone survey, based on responses from 217 families, indicated the percentage of Southern California families who will shop at department stores dropped from 41 percent last year to 38 percent now. About 29 percent will shop at specialty stores, compared with 26 percent last year. The survey allowed respondents to choose more than one category, so responses can total more than 100 percent.

Other findings showed twice as many families will shop over the Internet this year, but concerns about Internet security, inability to touch and try on clothes or to take them home immediately are holding back widespread use, Cherbak said. About 13 percent of families surveyed said they would do some shopping over the Internet, up from 6 percent last year. Other surveys showed more families researching products online than buying online.

About 61 percent of Southern California parents are expected to spend about the same amount as last year on back-to-school items - less than $200 per child. Almost 40 percent said they would spend more than $200.

A survey recently released by American Express showed higher figures, but it focused on older children. American Express projected parents of 12- to 17-year-olds in the Western United States would spend an average of $332 per child, and teens would add $102 of their own money. The national average was $548 for parents and teens combined - 20 percent more than in 1999.

Wade Perry, financial adviser and manager at American Express Financial Advisors in Long Beach, said good economic conditions make people more comfortable with letting go of money.

``The economy is doing quite well, so people are much more free in their spending, which is causing the economy to keep going. In the early '90s, people weren't doing this,'' Perry said.

In the mid-1990s people began recovering from an era of corporate downsizing and layoffs, and they became more confident that the economy would work in their favor for the foreseeable future, he said.

The American Express survey showed teens in the western United States were likely to consider themselves trendsetters or style leaders than in other parts of the country.

In Southern California, Deloitte & Touche found Quiksilver, Levi's Roxy, Old Navy, and Nike topped the wanted list among the 25 percent of families who will be shopping for specific brands.

Hot items included cargo pants and shorts, surfer and skater brands, capri pants and Skechers shoes.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, chart

Photo:

(1 -- color) Richard Brent, manager of a Target store in Granada Hills, shows off one of the most popular back-to-school items: a Pokemon backpack.

(2 -- color) Looking to save money, Denise Gavron shops for school supplies for her child at a Target store in Granada Hills.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

Chart: BACK-TO-SCHOOL

61 percent of Southern California families will spend less than $200 per child on back-to-school items.

SOURCE: Deloitte & Touche Shopping Outlook Survey 2000, Southern California