Holiday-Kickoff Sales Fail to Cheer a Lot of Retailers
The Christmas shopping season for the nation’s retailers is shaping up as a season of hope as yet unfulfilled.
Even before the first weekend ended Sunday, Sears Roebuck & Co., the nation’s largest retailer, declared sales disappointing.
Sears, and many of the nation’s other retail chains, expect a lackluster Christmas season, with little--if any--volume gains over last year.
Retail industry analysts say consumers, worried about the economy and the crisis in the Persian Gulf, are apt to spend carefully. In one recent survey, nearly half the people polled said they would spend less this year than last.
“Any increase in this environment is good,” said Duncan Muir, a spokesman for J. C. Penney.
Muir said chain-wide results weren’t available Sunday, but that Penney stores in the Dallas area--where the chain is based--reported a gain in sales over last year. He cautioned that that may not be indicative of results for the entire company.
The economy in the Dallas region is recovering, Muir said, and sales are benefiting from pent-up consumer demand.
Matthew A. Howard, senior marketing vice president for Penney rival Sears, blamed the chain’s poor results on warm weather in the Midwest and worries about the economy. Consumers, he said, were in “more of a shopping mood than a buying mood.”
Howard said consumers seemed “hesitant to make commitments for big-ticket items,” such as washers and dryers, that Sears customers typically buy at Christmas.
It is too early to tell how well the season will pan out. If consumers follow recent patterns, the pace of shopping will fall off now that the big first shopping weekend is over, then gradually build to the last 10 days of the season.
Many retailers are pinning their hopes on those last 10 days. Howard noted that Christmas, falling on a Tuesday this year, follows a three-day weekend.
“Consumers may be delaying their purchases” until then, he said in a statement.
It was difficult to gauge the weekend’s results because many retailers--including Robinson’s, May Company, Bullock’s and I. Magnin--declined to discuss sales. Others, including a spokesman for the Broadway, were unavailable.
Some chains, including Nordstrom and Penney, had limited results available. A spokeswoman for Nordstrom’s Seattle-area stores sounded upbeat--”the stores are busy and people are buying”--but declined to say whether volume showed any gain from last year.
“We are hoping to see an increase this season,” said the spokeswoman, Kellie Tormey. “Right now, it is just too early to say whether we will.”
To attract shoppers, some retailers are resorting to promotions beyond the usual Thanksgiving Day markdowns. The Broadway, for example, handed out $10 gift certificates for each $100 spent in its stores.
On Saturday morning, customers waited for five minutes or more to obtain certificates from clerks stationed on each floor of the Arcadia store--an indication that at least some people were buying and that the Broadway would eventually give away a quantity of merchandise.
Target, a discount store operated by Dayton Hudson, drew customers by promoting its plush Calico Cat and Gingham Dog, which star in their own videotape--also for sale.
Ann Barkelew, a Dayton Hudson spokeswoman, said Friday sales at Target and at Dayton Hudson department stores were “exceptional” and that sales on Saturday were “softer but still good.” She said the company’s Mervyn’s stores did well both days.
Barkelew declined to compare weekend results to last year’s performance.
Judging from weekend sales, consumers are buying traditional gifts this year. Strong-selling items included sweaters, robes, jewelry, Nintendo video game sets, telephone answering machines and handbags.
One disappointment at Target was a $10.99 stove-top broiler. “It’s selling well at our department stores,” said a puzzled Barkelew. “I guess our Target customers already have one.”
