RETAILERS RESORTING TO PRE-CHRISTMAS SALES; STORES SEEK TO SPARK BUSINESS.Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer Armed with 20 percent-off coupons from her newspaper, Reseda resident Barbara Cameron Barbara Cameron is an American model. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its November 1955 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Lawrence Tirschel. External links
``I'm grateful - this is how it should be,'' said Cameron, who estimated she saved $35 by midday. Deeper into the mall, actress Karen Black was looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. specific merchandise for presents - not red tags. ``I know what I want almost before I get there, so I don't look for sales at all,'' said Black, who received a 1970 Oscar nomination for her supporting role supporting role n → second rôle m supporting role n → ruolo non protagonista in ``Five Easy Pieces.'' So far, Black is the exception, not the rule. Retailers and analysts say shoppers are doing more browsing than spending this holiday shopping season. As a result, area retailers are offering discounts on a host of items to lure customers into their stores as the final week begins. ``The retailers haven't thrown in the towel, but they are certainly offering some price incentives to bring consumers in,'' Richard Giss, a partner with the trade retail services group of Deloitte & Touche LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol , said Thursday. Earlier in the season, Giss had projected a 4 percent to 5 percent increase in spending over last year 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, . On Thursday, he dropped his expectation to 3 percent to 4 percent. Theories abound for why buying is down - instability in the stock market, high levels of consumer debt and uncertainty about employment are a few, he said. But he isn't entirely convinced by them. Something he believes might have hurt retailers more, he said, was their push to start the holiday shopping season earlier in the year. Some retailers started as far back as late October, he said. ``Consumers become desensitized de·sen·si·tize tr.v. de·sen·si·tized, de·sen·si·tiz·ing, de·sen·si·tiz·es 1. To render insensitive or less sensitive. 2. Immunology To make (an individual) nonreactive or insensitive to an antigen. when things start in October,'' Giss said. ``That's a long time to try to drag it out.'' Many merchants, including Sears, Roebuck and Co., Dayton Hudson Corp. and Kmart Corp., reported lackluster sales the first few weeks of the season. ``We've seen some soft spots,'' said Kmart spokesman Bob Burton Bob Burton refers to the following people:
Maria Judy, a spokeswoman for Nordstrom, said the upscale department store chain has ``experienced some very healthy foot traffic'' through the season. Still, the store has marked down prices on a number of items to remain competitive with other stores. The deductions might be key to attracting shoppers. A survey this week of 1,001 people by Charleston, S.C.-based America's Research Group found 36 percent of respondents have more than a third of their shopping left to do, and of that group, 54 percent are waiting until the last minute to take advantage of the sales. Sales have drawn customers from Glendale to 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. , retailers said. Melissa Molly, manager of the Frederick's of Hollywood Frederick's of Hollywood is a well known retailer of lingerie in the United States, with stores in many modern shopping malls across the USA. The business was started by Frederick Mellinger (inventor of the push-up bra) in 1946. store in the Glendale Galleria The Glendale Galleria is a large 3 story regional shopping mall located in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California. It is the second largest mall in Los Angeles County. It is located in Downtown Glendale. , said business has been booming, in part because of a series of sales at the shop. ``We've maintained, we've held our own,'' Molly said. Mimi Hemmer, an assistant manager at The Limited at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, said traffic has been solid, but she expects the crowds to increase as Christmas approaches. ``We are seeing a lot of the best activity on sale items, but that's always the case,'' she said. At The White House, a Glendale Galleria retailer specializing in all-white apparel for women, business is about what would be expected, said manager Monica Benitez. ``We're not as busy as we want it to be, but we're doing fine,'' she said. Many of her customers have said they have barely started their shopping and appear to be waiting until later in the season to buy. ``Maybe they're waiting for sales?'' she speculated. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1 -- color) Actress Karen Black with Daryn Rose, left, and her daughter, Celine Eckelberry, hit Topanga Plaza on Thursday for holiday shopping. Tina Gerson/Daily News (2 -- color) Shannon Clark of 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. looks at robes at Victoria's Secret. Tina Gerson/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion