Retailers' Yule hopes rise as Thanksgiving sales gain over 1992.

In another sign that the Southland's retail sales decline may be bottoming out, local retailers have reported post-Thanksgiving weekend sales were slightly ahead of last year's.

Southland JC Penney stores showed double-digit sales increases during the Thanksgiving weekend compared with the same period in 1992, said David Oliver, special events manager for the Southern California JC Penney stores.

"The business outlook for December is probably the most positive it's been in a long time," Oliver said.

He attributed the surge to a successful national television advertising campaign, successful sales of the retailer's private label items and merchandise that is priced better than in previous years.

Sales that weekend at Southland Target stores increased by 2 percent to 3 percent vs. a year earlier, said David Watters, district manager for the discount chain's Northern Los Angeles market.

Likewise, sales at L.A.-area Nordstrom stores showed a "moderate increase" over the same period in 1992, said woman Caroline Brown.

Retailers hoped the late-year sales spurt would help maintain recent glimmers of light at the end of the retailing tunnel. Following a couple years of nearly straight declines, overall monthly retail sales in L.A. County have been either flat or increased since March of this year.

Even Los Angeles-based Carter Hawley Hale Store Inc., which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection 14 months ago, reported business at its Broadway stores was "good" over Thanksgiving weekend. Yet Carter Hawley spokesman Bill Dombrowski declined to specify just what "good" meant.

Brown said the robust sales at Nordstrom indicate the rest of the season should be strong because many shoppers wait until just before Christmas to buy gifts.

This year's holiday season has one extra shopping day in comparison with last year, which should help to boost sales comparisons with 1992, Watters said.

Meanwhile, inventory levels at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills are "very strong," or at least as strong as in 1992, said spokesman Kirk Gerou.

At Carter Hawley's Broadway stores, inventories are down slightly in comparison with last year, but that can be attributed to the retailer's new merchandising strategy being implemented by new Chief Executive David Dworkin and his management team, Dombrowski said.

The objective now is to maintain fresher inventory and turn it over faster, Dombrowski said.

The hottest-selling items at Carter Hawley over the Thanksgiving weekend included silk jogging suits, wallets on a string and items sporting a Looney Toon theme, Dombrowski said.

Nordstrom, meanwhile, was selling lots of Sweaters, sleepwear, fragrances, and wallets on a string, Brown said.

At target stores, the biggest-selling toys were Nerf guns, Barbie collectible dolls, McDonald's Cookie Maker and Talking Barney, a stuffed purple dinosaur, Watters said.

JC Penney's private label merchandise that sold well included its Arizona label of young men, young women and children's clothing, Oliver said, as well as Hunt Club clothing for men and women.

Many retailers traditionally stage sales during Thanksgiving weekend, and this year was no exception. Selected merchandise at Nordstrom was marked 25 percent to 50 percent off, and JC Penney and Carter Hawley also held sales.