Hints of a Low-Budget Christmas : Retailing: Stores are mobbed, but many patrons are shunning expensive items. Still, some merchants are offering the rosiest predictions in years.
With Thanksgiving dinner out of the way, holiday shoppers sampled the retail fare around Ventura County on Friday, but their buying appetite was decidedly light.
Many of those who mobbed malls and department stores said they were splurging on practical--not pricey--items this year.
“I wish this was going to be a Christmas to spend, but it isn’t,” said Roland Adams, 41, of Oak Park. He had opted for $100 worth of dolls and board games from the Toys ‘R’ Us store in Thousand Oaks instead of what his 12-year-old son really wanted, a Nintendo video game.
“I hate to be stingy,” he shrugged, “but that’s the way it’s gotta be.”
At malls from Thousand Oaks to Ventura, the weak economy has transformed even the most generous givers into Scrooges for the second or third consecutive year.
Even those not hurt by the recession said their shopping habits are tighter than they have ever been. Shoppers are patronizing the early bird specials and sales racks and pushing their credit cards to the limit.
“We’re writing bad checks and waiting for my monthly check to cover it,” said Jackie Brown, 48, of Ventura as she rode through the Buenaventura Mall in a wheelchair with her 1-year-old grandson, Jeffrey, on her lap. “They’ve cut my Social Security so bad and my daughter’s welfare.”
Karen McBride, 51, of Ojai spent three hours roaming The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, spending $500. She expects to spend another $500 before the season is through.
Her three bags of Christmas presents consisted of items from The Limited’s 2-for-1 racks and clothes that were marked down by as much as 33%.
“Some of my family members aren’t going to be able to go out and buy the things they need,” McBride said. “That’s why I’m buying more practical items.”
Despite the leanness of the early holiday buying, some merchants offered the rosiest predictions in years.
Barbara Teuscher, The Oaks mall general manager, said October sales were up about 7% over last year and she expects a 5% to 7% increase in sales for November and December over 1991. If that happens, the late-year buying rush would help push the year’s sales by as much as 3% over 1991.
A good Christmas season at The Oaks would be welcomed not just by merchants, but by retired teachers.
The $40-billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System purchased 80% of The Oaks in October, 1991. Officials of the Sacramento-based pension fund also bought the North Ranch Mall in the Westlake area of Thousand Oaks.
Across town at K mart, where about 50 shoppers were lined up before the store opened at 7 a.m., Assistant Manager Ron Terrinoni said the chain is predicting increased sales of as much as 11% statewide.
“This morning, I’m telling you, we were really busy,” Terrinoni said as he packed a soda machine with cans. “When things get really tight, people come to K mart.”
And at the Sears store in Oxnard, General Manager Don Facciano said lines were long in the men’s and athletics departments.
The early Christmas shopping frenzy has given him hope that this year’s sales will top last year’s less-than-stellar showings by about 5%, Facciano said.
“We had set our (Friday) sales goals, and in total we met and beat our goals,” he said. But he added, “the true test is the weekend, Saturday and Sunday.”
Although some stores predicted an increase in sales this year, other merchants--such as Susan White, owner of the Bella boutique at The Oaks--are glum.
Monthly sales at Bella, which sells Christmas ornaments and specialty gifts, have plunged by 25% since June, she said, and on Friday the register was hardly ringing.
“People are just really bargain shopping. They’re going to buy underwear as opposed to jewelry,” White said. “I had a guy come in and spend $600 on Christmas decorations. There are still those people around, I just wish there were more of them.”
Across the county, many shoppers left the stores empty-handed on Friday, even after spending hours roaming the mall.
Gene Bernath, a salesman for Daniel’s Fine Jewelry at the Esplanade Mall in Oxnard, said the store isn’t selling the pricier items it used to.
“There’s always a Christmas,” he said, “but it won’t be spectacular this year.”
Shane Davis of Oxnard and his family roamed the Esplanade Mall, looking but not buying.
“This is the first year I’ve been unemployed in my life,” said Davis, who lost his job as a theater projectionist in August. He guided his two children and pregnant wife past gleaming shop windows.
“Today we’re just looking,” he said. “You stalk your prey and see what’s out there. Our theory this year is cash and carry. No credit, and we’re watching our pennies.”
One family left Santa Barbara County to do their shopping in the less expensive malls of Ventura.
With the family’s finances in disarray because of a divorce, medical expenses and job changes, Katelyn Daggett, 18, of Carpinteria said she came to an agreement with her mother, Katherine, 47.
“If you give me nothing, I’ll give you nothing,” she told her mother as they stood outside Susie’s Deals.
Although the times are lean, the holiday cheer wasn’t.
A mother and daughter left a K mart store in Thousand Oaks, small shopping bags slung across their arms and the tune “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” on their lips.
“We have two out of seven people unemployed in our family. We’ve really stripped down a lot,” said Robin Trench, 36, who spent less than $25. “It’s just important to be together. . . . The tighter the economy is, the more you sing Christmas carols. That’s all there is.”
Pascual is a Times staff writer and Quinn is a correspondent. Correspondent Doug McClellan contributed to this story.
