Holiday sales leave a mixed bag of results

Paul Clinton

Local retailers struggled to hit their sales forecasts for the

holiday shopping season, early indicators show, but at the same time,

Costa Mesa’s powerhouse center, South Coast Plaza, seems to have

bucked the somewhat soft retail atmosphere, officials said.

At Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, store sales for November and

December increased this year at Bloomingdale’s, but managers of the

high-end chain said they hoped sales would be stronger.

Bloomingdale’s is owned by Federated Department Stores Inc., a public

company.

“We’re optimistic,” General Manager Jim Murphy said, adding that

he was awaiting final sales numbers. “But we’re disappointed about

the [early] results.”

In early November, a report from Deloitte & Touche’s Costa Mesa

office forecasted a 3% to 5% increase during what are the best two

months for most retailers.

Spokeswomen at both Fashion Island, in Newport Beach, and South

Coast Plaza declined to provide numbers, but said sales were at least

in-line with expectations.

“We went into the holiday season expecting to be up moderately,”

said Jennifer Heiger, a spokeswoman with Fashion Island-owner The

Irvine Co. “While it’s still a little early to say for certain, the

anecdotal evidence is telling us that we were on the right track.”

Early indicators also point to a healthy season at South Coast

Plaza, spokeswoman Debra Gunn Downing said.

Visitors to the center increased 10% during the holidays, Downing

said.

“We had a very strong holiday season,” she said. “We were very

happy.”

At Sears, in the shopping center, managers said a recent

renovation helped bring renewed interest to their store this holiday

season.

“We’re very pleased with the results of Christmas sales,”

Operations Manager Rick Peterson said. “We don’t have any hard

numbers, but all indications are that we will exceed our

expectations.”

Both South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island benefit from their

locations in the heart of wealthy communities. Officials from both

centers also stage a string of holiday events, including tree

lightings, Santa Claus visits and other events to enhance the holiday

atmosphere.

As another way to increase foot traffic, many retailers also

offered deep discounts on merchandise to attract customers,

especially in the week following Christmas Day, said Tony Cherbak,

Deloitte & Touche’s Costa Mesa-based retail specialist.

“By all accounts, it was an exceptionally promotional year,”

Cherbak said. “There was a mad rush at the end [to move

merchandise].”

The push to move merchandise coincided with flagging of consumer

confidence.

On Tuesday, the conference board said its index slipped 4.4% to a

nine-year low. Consumers are still worried about a tight job market,

high unemployment and a possible war with Iraq, the report said.

Early forecasts that discount retailers like Target, Kmart and

Wal-Mart would benefit from a spending slow-down also didn’t

materialize. Target, which runs the Costa Mesa Greatland Target at

3030 Harbor Blvd., announced earlier this week it would fall “well

below” its goal of an at-least 3% increase in December sales. The

company booked a 1% increase for November.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

[email protected].