Cash Registers Ring in Anaheim and Santa Ana
Orange county’s two largest cities--Anaheim and Santa Ana--again led the list for retail sales during the first quarter, with totals of $644.3 million and $604.9 million, respectively. Costa Mesa--home of megamall South Coast Plaza--was ranked third, according to figures released by the State Board of Equalization.
The dollar value of taxable retail transactions in the county during the first 3 months of 1988 hit $5.74 billion, up 6.1% from the first quarter of 1987. When adjusted for a 4.5% inflation rate, however, the figures show only a moderate level of real spending increases, compared to the same period in 1987.
A detailed report on first-quarter retail sales shows that most of the slowdown in Orange County came from flat or even sliding sales of luxury and discretionary items, such as luggage, books, jewelry, liquor and some types of clothing.
County retail sales as a percentage of the state total dropped slightly, compared to the year-ago quarter. Still, the county accounted for more than 10% of retail sales in the state.
RETAIL SALES BY COMMUNITY 1988 first quarter in thousands of dollars
City Amount Anaheim $644,278 Santa Ana $604,892 Costa Mesa $456,848 Irvine $413,154 Orange $370,739 Huntington Beach $365,408 Garden Grove $276,987 Fullerton $262,005 Newport Beach $220,450 Buena Park $192,873 Westminster $163,580 Tustin $147,649 Brea $115,537 La Habra $87,104 Fountain Valley $82,288 Cypress $67,624 Placentia $58,918 San Juan Capistrano $54,667 Stanton $52,235 Los Alamitos $49,753 San Clemente $43,640 Laguna Beach $36,103 Yorba Linda $25,494 Seal Beach $22,330
Source: State Board of Equalization
