South Coast Plaza Has Other Malls Working Hard to Attract Shoppers

Faced with tougher competition from South Coast Plaza, the battle for retail dollars has become fierce among area shopping malls this holiday season.

To lure people to their stores, other nearby shopping centers are vying to see who can offer extra services, bigger catalogues, fancier promotions and more advertising than last year.

With less than two weeks to go until Christmas, shoppers are making this season a happy one for some local merchants and a dismal one for others, a survey of Orange County malls indicates.

“The season is going very well--much better than last year,� said Lynn Feuer, general manager of the Mall of Orange. “People are spending money and they’re spending it earlier.� At the Laguna Hills Mall, officials report overflowing parking lots and sales that are up 10%.

Oversize, sparkly sweaters and flashy dresses in gold, silver and red metallics are among those items selling well, as are designer jeans, teddy bears and Teddy Ruxpin toys.

But it has been slow going for other merchandise, despite a few retailers discounting some items as early as mid-October.

“People are being cautious in their buying. They’re looking for the bargains,� said James Charter, general manager of the Brea Mall. A spokeswoman at Westminster Mall, who asked not to be named, said profits have been down so far this year over last, but she remains optimistic that sales for the holiday season will improve.

Some smaller stores also find little reason to rejoice. Sales at Earth Craft, a novelty store at the Westminster Mall, have been “definitely slower� than last year, said assistant manager Laura Chandler. Like other merchants, she expects business to pick up as Christmas approaches.

At Fashion Island, where sales this year are running 13% ahead of 1985, officials believe that consumers will come flocking during the season’s final days. “It will be spent the last few weeks, if it’s going to be spent at all,� said Barbara Roppola, director of management.

Said Roppola: “People always think they’ve got time, then there’s a lot of wringing of hands when they realize, ‘Oh, my God! It’s the 10th!’ . . .�

To make sure they come out ahead, virtually every mall surveyed said it was doing more to attract shoppers. Here’s a sampling of their efforts:

- Brea Mall, where sales have been slow, has spent $15,000 to spruce up such Christmas decorations as giant jack-in-the-boxes and toy trains. The center also is selling 3 1/2-foot-long holiday stockings in bright red and green for $5 with a minimum $100 purchase. The mall is also mailing its 60-page Christmas catalogue to more households. This year, shoppers as far away as Chino, Diamond Bar and those in the Pomona-Walnut area will get greetings from the mall.

- The City is offering a holiday promotion whose prizes include an airline trip to anywhere in the continental United States. Shoppers can enter by filling out entry forms at the stores. The mall is helping to spread the word by adding businesses to its direct-mail roster this year.

- At Fashion Island in Newport Beach, holiday decorations once again feature a 90-foot Christmas tree that glitters with 3,000 lights. And in keeping with another tradition, the shopping center has also covered its grounds with 7,500 poinsettia plants.

Fashion Island officials were busy in other areas, too. “This year, we’ve blanketed absolutely every household in our primary market,� said marketing manager Kathleen Flood. The move, which she describes as a “counter-strategy� against the competition from South Coast Plaza, includes mailing the mall’s 40-page catalogue to 130,000 households.

- At Laguna Hills Mall, management’s emphasis on more personal service this season can be seen in such amenities as postage stamp booths and “pack and post� kiosks, where weary shoppers can ship their gift parcels. The mall, like some of its competitors, is also pushing gift certificates that are good at any store in the center. Manager Garth Olsson said he’s optimistic that strong sales, which are up 10%, will continue.

- The Mall of Orange also is stressing the personal touch, offering such services as a post office, shipping and overnight mailing of packages. Shoppers also can leave their packages at a claim counter and return to pick them up. Newspaper and radio ads, which are up 100% this year, are another big part of the mall’s effort this season to persuade shoppers to spend their dollars.

About 50% of the mall’s annual sales come during the Christmas season, “We’d better do it right--we won’t get a second chance,� said marketing director Angie Reppen.

- Minnie and Mickey Mouse are being used to help boost sales at Mission Viejo Mall, which is giving away foot-tall replicas of the Disney characters with purchases of $500 or more at any combination of its stores. The mall also has a limited postal unit and gift wrap section, and has “upgraded� its advertising to draw consumers from San Clemente, El Toro, Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano, said general manager Barbara O’Brien.

Shoppers will find fewer twinkling lights and snowmen decorating display windows, said assistant manager Tanya Thomas, who added that shopkeepers seem to have gone for “a neater, cleaner look with not as much fluff. The focus is on what they’re selling.� Although Thomas said it’s still too early to determine if the South Coast Plaza is siphoning away buyers, “we don’t think it will. Here, everything isn’t so huge and we’re under one roof. It’s not overwhelming.�

- Westminster Mall is expecting “a great season,� said a spokeswoman, although sales so far have been down from last year. What appears to be a big factor in drawing shoppers is the growing number of shopkeepers who are using unusual window displays, including a clothing store with giant mannequins resembling Barbie and Ken dolls that are modeling the shop’s trendy outfits. “People are just upscaling, with more creative displays. And they’re not hanging garland all over,� the spokeswoman said. Westminster Mall officials are hoping for a heavy turnout of shoppers in the remaining two weeks until Christmas.