Big-Ticket Goods Were Hit Hardest
Newly released figures confirm what shop owners in many parts of the county knew last winter: Retail sales went into a tailspin amid consumer concerns over recession and impending war in the Persian Gulf.
Consumers cut back primarily on big-ticket durable goods. Statewide, sales of new cars declined 2.6%; household and home furnishings, 4.4%; lumber and building materials, 10.2%, and household appliances, 6.7%, according to the research division of the State Board of Equalization.
Sales of non-durable goods--such as clothing, food and fuel--tend to do better during recessions because such purchases are more difficult to postpone, and the fourth quarter of 1990 was no exception, with an increase of 5.3%. Analysts attributed much of the gain to service station sales, which rose 29% on the strength of dramatically higher gasoline prices.
Countywide Retail Sales For the second consecutive quarter, retail sales declined from their year-earlier levels in the fourth quarter of 1990. 1990: -2.9 GAINS AND DECLINES While more than half of the 25 cities reporting showed year-to-year declines in retail sales, there were five cities with increases of more than 10%
City-By-City Breakdown
4th Quarter 4th Quarter % City 1990 1989 Change Anaheim 385,645 426,370 -9.6 Brea 140,083 126,943 +10.4 Buena Park 173,634 177,875 -2.4 Costa Mesa 472,344 533,029 -11.4 Cypress 51,500 47,662 +8.1 Dana Point 37,610 NA NA Fountain Valley 132,787 115,508 +15.0 Fullerton 245,019 248,845 -1.5 Garden Grove 224,092 239,571 -6.5 Huntington Beach 314,835 350,649 -10.2 Irvine 235,640 243,395 -3.2 Laguna Beach 39,315 38,766 +1.4 La Habra 92,693 90,860 +2.0 Los Alamitos 27,278 26,987 +1.1 Mission Viejo 116,304 135,776 -14.3 Newport Beach 205,717 222,955 -7.7 Orange 313,640 340,362 -7.9 Placentia 45,885 48,777 -5.9 San Clemente 56,140 44,058 +27.4 San Juan Capistrano 62,589 67,553 -7.4 Santa Ana 442,798 458,826 -3.5 Seal Beach 24,749 22,079 +12.1 Stanton 43,495 43,400 +0.2 Tustin 155,143 147,851 +4.9 Westminster 203,208 195,541 +3.9 Yorba Linda 38,030 30,737 +23.7
Source: California State Board of Equalization
