CLIPBOARD : MALL HAUL

If Orange County is perceived as a valley of the malls it is not only because of their seeming omnipresence. Malls are also the place where consumers spend more than $2 billion per year. And the amounts are consistently growing. Last year, for example, the county’s 12 major malls recorded $2.3 billion in taxable sales. That amounts to sales of $962 for every man, woman and child in the county. It is also 6.5% more than 1988 and 35% more than 1985. Here’s how sales have increased during the last five years: (In millions of dollars) 1985: $1,705 1986: 1,810 1987: 2,030 1988: 2,160 1989: 2,300

A COMPARATIVE LOOK

South Coast Plaza is, of course, the 500-pound gorilla of county malls. During the last five years it has consistently been by far the leader in sales. The $672 million in spending there in 1989 was three times the nearest competitor, the Brea Mall.

1989 sales in millions of dollars: South Coast Plaza: 672 Brea: 224 MainPlace: 203 Fashion Island: 194 Westminster: 171 Huntington Center: 156 Laguna Hills: 145 Mission Viejo: 144 Buena Park: 131 Orange: 126 The City: 78 Anaheim: 56 million Although South Coast Plaza dominated sales during the last five years, there is at least one nugget of good news for its competitors: the giant’s share of the mall trade was unchanged from 1987 to 1989, equaling a flat 29%.

1989 percentage of sales: South Coast Plaza: 29% Brea: 10 Fashion Island: 9 MainPlace: 9 Westminster: 8 Huntington Center: 7 Buena Park: 6 Laguna Hills: 6 Mission Viejo: 6 Orange: 5 The City: 3 Anaheim: 2 Source: State Board of Equalization