REGION'S RETAILERS RELISH INCREASE IN HOLIDAY SHOPPING.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer Hundreds of Beanie Babies later and long after the last Furby was gone from the shelves, assistant manager Linda Smith Linda Smith is the name of:
The toyshop was among 20 new stores that mall executives said helped boost sales at the Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into , which joined retailers across the region in celebrating a robust shopping season that included this weekend's brisk post-holiday sales. ``For our particular store, it was a tremendous Christmas,'' said Dick Rogers, store team leader at the Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. Target. ``Sales were great.'' Analysts said the sluggish season nationwide did not happen in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , where job security, consumer confidence and holiday weather might have contributed to the shopping mood. Analyst Richard Giss from Deloitte & Touche LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol in 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. said other indicators, from healthy real estate sales to a rebounding stock market, also might have helped consumers feel good about buying. ``It really puts people in a frame of mind to spend,'' said Giss. Though firm numbers were not available from most retailers, store managers said their initial reading on the holiday season, and the weekend's post-Christmas sales, show it was a good one. The Oaks reported a 63 percent increase in weekend sales during the three days from Christmas Eve to Sunday, not counting Christmas Day, over the same three days last year. In all, the mall expects to finish 1998 with sales 10 percent improved over last year. ``We've been really happy to see the increase this year,'' said Diane Brandes, director of marketing for The Oaks who attributed the mall's success this season in part to the 20 new stores, from International Toys to 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 , added this year. ``We didn't have those last year, the two toy stores, so that was really big.'' Popular items among shoppers this season mirrored an optimism in the economy, with shoppers giving the gift of not-so-needed items, from martini glasses to home furnishings, which reported strong sales. Also heavy were sales in home electronics and computer products that the Simi Valley Target prepared for by carving out a portion of its new 17,000-square-foot addition to accommodate an expanded electronics section. ``Electronics in general was extremely strong,'' said Rogers of the Simi Target. ``And computer software - anything to do with computers was booming.'' While analysts said the East Coast warm weather left consumers enjoying the outdoors instead of shopping for the holidays, Southland south·land or South·land n. A region in the south of a country or an area. south  land·er n.Noun 1. retailers said the cold temperatures last week might have boosted sales. Peggy Wimberley, general manager of the outdoor Janss Marketplace, said she believes that the cool weather possibly helped put buyers in the spirit of the season - and boost apparel sales. ``Even the cold weather didn't seem to impact us,'' she said. ``I'm sure we'll have some smiling faces.'' And while the holiday season seemed to be a good one for retailers, after-Christmas sales were just as robust. Target's Rogers said returns were down about 20 percent, with his return-section overstaffed o·ver·staff tr.v. o·ver·staffed, o·ver·staff·ing, o·ver·staffs To supply with too many employees: Management was careful not to overstaff the agency. compared with last year. Managers at The Oaks agreed. ``We had a lot of people coming in doing some after-holiday sales shopping,'' said Brandes who said shoppers are spending gift certificates, picking up half-off holiday items and heading to the sales. ``It's really big that first weekend, then we see it die off.'' That has been the scene at Toys International, too, which started its four-day post-holiday sale Saturday and expects shoppers will begin to taper off Verb 1. taper off - end weakly; "The music just petered out--there was no proper ending" fizzle, fizzle out, peter out discontinue - come to or be at an end; "the support from our sponsoring agency will discontinue after March 31" 2. . ``I think things have pretty much mellowed out,'' said Smith. ``People have pretty much gotten the rush out of their system.'' |
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