YOU ARE HERE : Reaching Out to an Ethnically Mixed Clientele

When 6-year-old Nicholas Boyette wanted to know if Santa Claus is white, his mother, Janice, came up with this reply:

“I told him that the real Santa, when he goes to a white home, is white, and when he’s visiting black children, he’s black,” the 35-year-old Inglewood mother said.

Anticipating such questions, Hawthorne Plaza hired two ethnic Santas this Christmas: a black Santa, Izorrie Petrus, 24, and a bilingual, Spanish-speaking Santa, Clemente Gomez, 27.

Nicholas, who is black, didn’t care which Santa he visited: “I like them both,” he said. But it made a difference to his mother, who regularly shops at the mall, and mall managers anticipated that, too.

The Santas, along with mall brochures and ads with ethnically diverse models, are some of the ways Hawthorne Plaza has tried to reach out to its shoppers, who surveys show are 65% black, 18% Anglo, 15% Latino and 2% Asian.

Last year, in honor of Black History Month, the center put up a 10-ton sand sculpture showing the faces of eight blacks who made strides in medicine, science, politics, the arts and athletics. It also staged Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

The focus on cultural diversity is part of the plaza’s strategy to differentiate itself from other South Bay malls, which have been less aggressive in targeting ethnic customers, General Manager William Demarest said. “You can’t be everything to everybody,” he said. “So our approach has to be as diverse as the community.”

The strategy has come not a moment too soon for many merchants at the plaza who have been disappointed by sagging sales in the past two years. Sales revenue declines of 40% were not uncommon this year, many said.

There is little disagreement that the mall’s reputation for attracting youths and gang members is a large part of the problem. “Many customers are afraid to come and shop here because of what goes on,” said Mikhail Zib, who manages a jewelry store.

Hawthorne police are called to the mall daily for petty thefts and several times a week for stolen cars and robberies, Sgt. Henry Mashack said. But he said the crime rate at the mall is no higher than in most areas of the city.

Mall managers, however, are trying to create a safer, more attractive environment for shoppers and storefronts. Last year, the plaza boosted its security staff by 25% and began training officers in how to avert trouble before it starts. Now, as many as seven baton-wielding officers can be seen roaming together throughout the mall looking for hoodlums.

The Hahn Co., which owns and manages the mall, also spent $420,000 this year to give the plaza a long-overdue face lift. The earth-toned buildings, which had begun to look shabby and dated, were spruced up with a bright coat of white paint. Teal-colored neon signs were installed, and several palm trees and poppy beds were planted around the plaza.

“In the last few months, it’s a lot cleaner and a lot safer,” said Jack Park, owner of Jack’s Mens Wear, a mall stalwart for 11 years. “We’ve always had a lot of problems with gangs, a lot of fighting. But it’s been a lot better.”

HAWTHORNE PLAZA, HAWTHORNE

Year opened: 1977

Retail square footage: 834,772

Anchor stores: Montgomery Ward, The Broadway, J.C. Penney

Number of stores: 130

1989 sales tax paid to city: $882,000

% of city’s sales tax revenue: 15%

Memorable feature:

Southern Pacific railroad tracks cross through the parking lot, with train usually going through in late evening after the mall is closed.