Retail sales fall 3.7%, foreshadow poor holiday season results to come.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 retail sales took another dip in November 1991, off 3.7 percent from sales during November 1990. The region's sales underperformed those in most other parts of the country and much of the state, retail experts said. These figures, published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, indicate that December Christmas sales results for Los Angeles County are going to turn out to have been "pretty dismal," said 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 with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Department. L.A. County's bad news was surpassed by only one other part of the state, the San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden metropolitan area, where sales were off 7.1 percent from November to November. Closer to home, Orange County retail sales were off by 0.4 percent. Nationwide, November retail sales fell by 0.6 percent. Sales of nondurable non·du·ra·ble adj. Not enduring; being in a state of constant consumption: nondurable items such as paper products. n. A consumable item: nondurables such as food. goods were off only 0.3 percent, indicating that most of the drop came in durable goods durable goods Goods, such as appliances and automobiles, that have a useful life over a number of periods. Firms that produce durable goods are often subject to wide fluctuations in sales and profits. Also called consumer durables. , said Carl Steidtmann, chief economist at Management Horizons, a retail consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a based in Dublin, Ohio. Durable goods are long-lasting products such as automobiles, furniture, consumer electronics and other home-related items. On the other hand, most nondurable goods do not represent discretionary spending and thus don't generally suffer during a recession, explained Dave Stewart, a professor of marketing at USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. . Nondurable goods include such items as food and clothing. Meanwhile, L.A. County retail sales increased by 2.4 percent in November compared to October 1991. This surge was partly due to a seasonal trend and partly to some early Christmas shopping this year, Stewart said. Retail Sales Los Angeles County (in millions) Period Total sales 1991 November 5,595 October 5,464 September 5,364 August 5,631 July 5,759 June 5,645 May 5,817 April 5,499 March 5,533 February 4,933 January 5,158 1990 December 6,908 November 5,812 Source: U.S. Department of Commerce Many stores put up Christmas decorations much earlier during the past holiday season, thus encouraging shoppers to hit the stores early, he explained. |
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