Glendale Business Sales Decline Sparks Concern

Glendale is losing its retail competitiveness to its neighbors, officials have warned, reporting that total sales declined for the first time in nearly a decade last year, with only the Glendale Galleria continuing the steady increases of the 1980s.

A consultant hired by the city to study shopping patterns reported to the Redevelopment Agency that high-volume discount stores, such as IKEA and the Home Club in Burbank, and specialty boutiques in Pasadena are luring Glendale residents out of the city to shop.

A survey of six categories of goods and services showed, for example, that only 47% of Glendale residents shopped for home furnishings in the city this year, compared with 74% in 1983, said marketing consultant Martha Thayer, president of Thayer Keener.

“We’re not capturing the market share,” said City Manager David H. Ramsay. “The numbers are going the wrong way.”

Thayer’s study found that last year, as the recession hit full force, sales by non-Galleria merchants plummeted 18.5% to $132 million, the lowest in a decade.

Meanwhile, retailers in the Glendale Galleria reached a peak of $353.2 million in sales in 1990, but that wasn’t enough to keep the city’s total from a 9.5% decline.

The city receives a portion of the retail sales tax, which is one of its main sources of revenue.

Members of the City Council, who also serve as the Redevelopment Agency, discussed a number of measures to restore the city’s attractiveness to shoppers, but settled on no immediate plan.

Among the suggestions were remaking downtown; using direct incentives to retailers, such as remodeling assistance, and appointing an economic development council made up of business people, who would act as liaison between the Redevelopment Agency and retailers interested in locating in the city.

Mayor Ginger Bremberg said she was worried that retail incentives would divert money from redevelopment projects, such as the Galleria III or the renovation of the Alex Theatre into a performing arts center.

But Councilman Larry Zarian argued for an aggressive approach, including easing zoning restrictions.

“We need to emulate other cities to see if we can create the same type of atmosphere and capture that dollar,” Zarian said. “We can’t be complacent.”