SHOPPERS ON PARADE MALL TRAFFIC BUSY, SALES BRISK IN RUSH FOR PRESENTS AT LAST MINUTE.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer Last-minute shoppers flocked to area malls throughout the weekend and into Christmas Eve 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. bargains while keeping their spending in check, analysts and industry officials said Monday. For example, traffic was still crawling and parking at a premium late Sunday at Northridge Fashion Center Northridge Fashion Center is a large shopping mall located in Northridge, California. It opened in 1971. It was severely damaged during the Northridge Earthquake in 1994, but renovated extensively in 1995 and 1998. , and last-minute shoppers lined up early Monday morning to claim a prime spot at the Best Buy lot in Woodland Hills. ``Sales will be either flat or down a percent from last year. (Monday) is obviously a big deal, but I don't think retailers will see a big increase,'' said Jackie Fernandez, a partner in the retail services unit at Deloitte & Touche. So it remains doubtful that this Christmas season will eclipse last year's in terms of sales Terms of sale Conditions under which a firm proposes to sell its goods or services for cash or credit. volume thanks to a sluggish economy Sluggish Economy A state in the economy in which the growth is slow, flat or declining. The term can refer to the economy as a whole or a component of the economy, such as weak housing starts. and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Shopping action seemed stronger 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. than other parts of the country as major retailers resorted to early deep discounts and massive advertising. Fernandez found tepid tep·id adj. 1. Moderately warm; lukewarm. 2. Lacking in emotional warmth or enthusiasm; halfhearted: "the tepid conservatism of the fifties" Irving Howe. shopping activity at Orange County malls over the weekend and expected the same general results in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. area. ``I wasn't overly impressed by the amount of people I saw at the stores. I was hoping for a lot more,'' she said. The malls were crowded, but not as jammed as in past years, and lines weren't as long at the registers, with most shoppers leaving with just one package, Fernandez found. ``My sense is that people were still looking for bargains and good deals, but they weren't overspending,'' she said. Inventories also were depleted de·plete tr.v. de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing, de·pletes To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out. [Latin d , meaning that last-minute shoppers would not have a big selection of merchandise. That did not seem to be the case at 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. , where general manager Joanne Brosi said traffic was up between 13 percent and 15 percent from a year ago. ``It was very good. We had between 150,000 to 200,000 (visitors) on each day,'' she said. They seemed to be buying, too, because Brosi noted shoppers dropping off packages in their cars and heading back into the mall. ``We've been tracking this since the first of December, and from that first weekend we were getting indications ... that we would not be following the national trend,'' she said. Shana Yao, spokeswoman at the Sherman Oaks Fashion Square, also reported brisk Brisk as a proper name may refer to:
``Definitely, times are rough, but there are retailers that are doing very well,'' Yao said. She's positive shoppers were hungry, too. ``We measure (foot traffic) by food court sales, and they were up double digits Double Digits was a pricing game on the American television game show, The Price Is Right. Played from April 20, 1973 through May 18, 1973's show, it was played for a car and used small prizes. over last year,'' she said. The restrained spending in the final stretch before Christmas didn't match merchants' expectations and further clouded the shopping season, already expected to be the worst in at least a decade and maybe two. Kurt Barnard, publisher of Barnard's Retail Report, wrapped up the holiday shopping season nationwide with the gloomy gloom·y adj. gloom·i·er, gloom·i·est 1. Partially or totally dark, especially dismal and dreary: a damp, gloomy day. 2. prediction it would be the slowest in 20 years. ``The Christmas shipping season was the most bargain-based ... that we have ever seen,'' he said. ``Anything related to the home sold well so long as the price was very low, and anything not related to the home, most apparel, just sat there and gathered dust.'' The holiday season spanned 32 days, a day longer than 2000, but spirits were dimmed by unseasonably warm weather in some parts of the country, widespread layoffs and the war. CHRISTMAS DAY SHOPPING Forgot the whipped cream? Need some batteries in a hurry? Many restaurants will be open, as will movie theaters. The following markets will be open Christmas Day. Some stores might keep different hours. Call for details. Albertson's: closed. Gelson's: each store varies. Hows: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jons: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ralphs: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Whole Foods: closed. Vallarta: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Vons: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 7-Eleven: 24 hours. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Carlos Molina, left, and Michelle Castro look over purchases while returning to their car Monday at Best Buy. (2 -- color) Cars line up as last minute shoppers wait for parking spaces at Best Buy on Monday. Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer Box: CHRISTMAS DAY SHOPPING (see text) |
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