Day-After Sales Lure Mall-Loads of Shoppers

Consumers flocked to malls and shopping centers in Southern California and nationwide on Thursday, lured by post-Christmas bargains offered by retailers trying to make up for disappointing holiday sales.

“We were so busy we didn’t even have time to clean up from Christmas Eve,” said Kevin McDermott, manager of Bristol Harbor Smoked Salmon at Westminster Mall. “Sales were good.”

But while shoppers found steep price cuts, the selection of marked-off merchandise was limited. Retailers, burned last Christmas by shelves of unsold goods, kept a tight rein on inventory this year.

Although official sales tallies aren’t yet available, local retailers were encouraged by Thursday’s turnout.

“I think we’re on track toward an overall sales increase in the low double digits,” said John Gabriel, vice president and general manager of Fashion Island Newport Beach. “We won’t have concrete results in for a while, but we seem to be where we thought we’d be.”

Marc and Rada Ballon of Los Angeles said they planned to take full advantage of the sales. “We’ll spend until we run out of checks,” said Marc Ballon, who had just bought a television set from a Good Guys store in West Los Angeles.

Local retailers are hoping for more shoppers like the Ballons to help them achieve a modest increase of 4% over last year’s holiday sales--which had been the worst in years.

Although holiday buying began with a bang right after Thanksgiving, that momentum wasn’t sustained, thanks in part to high consumer debt loads and five fewer Christmas shopping days this year. In light of the early surge in sales, analysts had predicted retailers nationwide would post an 8% to 10% increase in holiday sales compared to levels of a year ago.

Their revised expectation of a 4% to 5% increase is still considered good economic news in Orange County and the rest of Southern California, which is struggling out of a years-long retail recession. Last year, for example, Southland retail sales were up a slight 2-3% over the prior year.

The holiday season is crucial for retailers. Some merchants generate 25% to 30% of their annual revenue during the period. And the after-Christmas sales have become increasingly important in recent years as more value-savvy consumers--as well as those seeking refunds and exchanges--troll the malls between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

“It doesn’t pay to buy it before Christmas, if you can get 50% off,” said Melissa Williams, who braved temperatures of 22-below to get to Target discount store in Bismarck, N.D. a little after 7 a.m.

While some consumers returned unwanted gifts Thursday, many sought out deals on things they didn’t get for Christmas.

From the mega-malls in America’s heartland to the ritzy shops lining Madison Avenue to Orange County shopping centers, they found a bonanza of bargains. Along Manhattan’s major shopping districts, nearly every store displayed sale signs: 20-70% off at Macy’s; 10-60% off at Nobody Beats the Wiz electronics stores; 20-65% off at Bloomingdale’s.

At Orange County malls, Macy’s, Robinsons-May, Sears and JCPenney were offering price cuts of about 50% on Thursday.

JCPenney spokesman Duncan Muir said the retailer had originally expected a holiday season sales increase in the “high single digits,” but said the company now expects a lower increase, despite the deep discounting.

“For most of the nation, this is a ho-hum Christmas and nothing to write home about,” said Kurt Barnard, a New Jersey-based retail economist. “The upscale retail chains did well because they serve people who have benefited from the stock market boom. However, retailers who were expecting big sales increases across the board did not consider the high levels of consumer debt.”

Credit card debt, for example, is now $464 billion--more than three times the level of 10 years ago, Barnard said. On the other hand, the national savings rate has doubled over the last two years as more Americans take money out of circulation to invest in mutual funds, he said.

In addition, consumers are spending more on things like vacations and home remodeling, which is taking crucial business away from retailers.

“We are seeing a shift in consumer behavior and they are spending in different ways than they used to,” said Carl Steidtmann, chief economist at Management Horizons, a consultant agency in Columbus, Ohio. Most Americans have little left for big-ticket purchases--and that is reflected in holiday sales trends this year.

Mike Lutsie of Garden Grove snared a $1,500 Sony color computer monitor that was marked down to $500 at bustling Fry’s Electronics in Fountain Valley. But he described his purchase as a necessity rather than a day-after Christmas whim.

“To be honest, even at $500 I never could have justified it,” he said. “But my monitor at home broke on Christmas Day so I needed a new one.”

But apparel sales, which were weak most of this decade, rebounded this year as shoppers were attracted to affordable clothing prices and the promise of price-cutting.

“People haven’t been shopping for clothing as much in the past few years, and now they need to replace worn garments,” said Jonathan Alpert, a spokesman at Laguna Hills Mall.

Toy makers did well during the holidays, thanks to the unexpected hit Tickle Me Elmo doll as well as strong sales of Nintendo 64 video game system and action figures based on the “Star Wars,” “Space Jam” and “101 Dalmatians” movies.

In contrast, expensive items such as large appliances, furniture and consumer electronics lagged this holiday season. Consumer electronics giants such as Best Buy and the Good Guys responded by offering storewide clearance sales on Thursday.

David Gunderman of Huntington Beach held off buying equipment needed to upgrade his computer’s hard drive until the post-Christmas sales began. On Thursday, he was at Fry’s Fountain Valley store searching for hardware selling for $79--down from $119 before the holiday.

Some spending reflected the growing interest in products with lasting value. For example, jewelry sales are up nationwide and locally.

Fred Meyer Jewelry at Westminster Mall expects “to do well all the way till the first of the year,” said Kevin Anderson, store manager, thanks to a run on diamond stud earrings and other items in the $99 to $300 range.

Merrellann Haddan warmed up for a day of shopping by buying half-price Christmas cards to use in 1997. The Westminster resident was also in the hunt for a gold chain at Bloomingdale’s new Newport Beach store.

But like many shoppers, Haddan said that she would only buy if the price was right. “I’ve got everything I need. Now, it’s a roll of the dice,” said Haddan, who took the day off to shop. “If the price isn’t right, forget it.”

Interest in upscale merchandise has been a boon to Bloomingdale’s, which opened its first three Southland stores in November.

Bloomingdale’s holiday season sales nationwide will increase 4% to 6% but the business at its Southland stores is expected to exceed the chain’s average, said Michael Lindblad, regional vice president of the chain.

Bloomingdale’s joined the price-cutters Thursday, offering 20% to 50% off at its locations in Century City, Sherman Oaks and Newport Beach. The mark-downs were effective, said Lindblad.

“I’m very pleased,” he said. “The amount of merchandise returned is lower than anticipated and sales have been tremendous.”

Macy’s is also among the retailers vying for holiday season sales in Southern California for the first time. The company moved into stores formerly operated by the Broadway and Bullock’s chains earlier this year.

“We had a lot of traffic in our stores Thursday,” said Merle Goldstone, a Macy’s spokeswoman. “Our sales numbers look promising. The day will be a big plus.”

The price-cutting created a genuine rush at some locations.

Westminster Mall quickly filled up Thursday afternoon as shoppers looked for sales. “I’m just buying new stuff,” said Jennifer Castro of Garden Grove. “I’m just buying the 50%-off sales for next Christmas.”

Traffic at the Plaza at West Covina exceeded expectations, said Larry Martin, mall manager. Sears, which opened a store at the mall last fall, attracted many of the shoppers.

The flow into the new Ontario Mills mall was slow initially, but increased significantly by Thursday afternoon, a mall spokesman said.

Meanwhile, shoppers outside Macy’s Holiday Lane--a temporary Christmas decoration store at the Northridge Fashion Center--crammed the mall’s second floor before 8 a.m. Thursday for the store’s 50%-off sale. Security was repeatedly called by store management to reform a line that crumbled then grew throughout the morning.

“My wife is somewhere in there,” said Bob Finkelstein, an insurance brokerage consultant from Northridge. “I just hope she survives.

“As soon as the doors opened people just started walking in and picking up items,” Finkelstein said. “We got here at a quarter of seven.”

Some retailers said that this year’s shopping season brought less stress than last year, when most retailers suffered through the dismal holiday period.

“There were nicer customers this year,” said Carol Farrell, manager of Wilsons, the Leather Experts store at Westminster Mall. “Last year, people seemed so cranky.”

Contributing to this story were Times staff writers Thomas Schultz in the San Fernando Valley, Peter Noah in Los Angeles and correspondent Lesley Wright in Orange County. Times wire services also contributed.