Holiday Shopping Frenzy : Business: Stores report big crowds and booming sales. ‘It’s been going gangbusters,’ a Sears manager says.
Eva Swaney brought her children to Buenaventura Mall on Friday morning for a much-anticipated appointment.
After waiting in line an hour and a half, Chantel, 8, and Zachary, 4, climbed onto Santa’s knee, slurped their free candy canes, and revealed what they wanted for Christmas.
The rest of the morning, Swaney spent $400 trying to fulfill those wishes.
Swaney was among the thousands of Ventura County shoppers who braved big crowds at malls and retail stores Friday in search of bargains on what is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year.
Like most of her fellow shoppers, Swaney was buying this year--if the price was right.
Elsewhere in Southern California, a consumer preference for late season values meant a slower day for retailers overall.
But in Ventura County, retail stores, especially the large ones, had successfully lured shoppers from their homes.
“It’s been going gangbusters all day long,” said a jubilant Gary Endicott, the store manager for Sears, located near the Janss Mall in Thousand Oaks. “The volume so far has been the same as last year, or even better.”
Sales were steady at Oxnard’s new Wal-Mart, a store that specializes in discount prices.
“I came in at 2 p.m. and since I’ve been here we’ve had every register going full blast,” said Steve Barela, assistant store manager. “I feel good about how things went. By the looks of it, we’ll do well all the way through Christmas.”
There was a similar scene in Ventura, at J.C. Penney, another department store that emphasized values.
“From the moment we opened the doors, the store has been jumping,” said Chip Scott, the store’s assistant manager.
“There seems to be a much more optimistic attitude in the Ventura area compared to the last two years. We know where we stand on base closures. There aren’t a lot more layoffs being announced. Things seem to have stabilized,” Scott said.
The only slow points were largely attributed to competition. Several stores in Ventura, including K-Mart and Toys R Us, blamed slowdowns on the recent opening of stores at the Shopping at the Rose center in Oxnard.
At Buenaventura Mall, early morning shoppers brought their children to be photographed with Santa Claus and raided several stores having early bird sales.
At Miller’s Outpost, a line of about 50 people snaked around the rear of the store.
Ventura resident Paula Eckberg said she began shopping at 7:30 a.m. By midday, as she waited in the Miller’s Outpost line to ring up more charges, she had already spent about $250.
“Obviously, I’m feeling a little better about spending my money this year, but I still don’t feel like it’s totally safe,” Eckberg said. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”
On the first floor of The Oaks mall, Lady Foot Locker had strung up a big banner: “Holiday Weekend Sale.”
Nearby, Array’s, a trendy clothing store, had a sign promising, “Entire Stock--50% Off.”
Retailing is not what it was even five years ago, said Joe Daquino, the manager at McClave Jewelers at The Oaks, which was holding a “storewide clearance” sale.
“We’ve restructured,” Daquino said. “We’re offering more bargains and just keeping the value and quality up.”
At Bonnie’s, a Ventura store that specializes in costumes, novelty and seasonal items, business was brisk, but not at the levels of years past.
“This year wasn’t as bad as last year,” said owner Bonnie Mihalic. “But it’s nothing like it was three or four years ago.
“It hasn’t reached the point where I need more than one cash register going at one time,” she said.
Despite the slowdown, some of downtown Ventura’s smaller retailers said they were surprised by the fairly large turnout.
“I think because the weather was nice and the people wanted to avoid the big crush of the shopping malls, they decided to give us a try,” said Denise Sindelar, a clerk at Ventura Bookstore on Main Street.
“Our business usually doesn’t hit this early, so we were very pleasantly surprised,” she said.
Buenaventura Mall officials said sales were noticeably higher than in previous years and that people were doing more than window-shopping.
“People are still looking for bargains, but I think their outlook on the economy is up,” said Karen LaChance, spokeswoman for Buenaventura Mall. “Shoppers have looked around, they have a little more money in their pockets, and now they’re ready to spend it.”
LaChance said the mall and the individual stores had made a tremendous push to bring people into the shops.
“We knew this was the time we needed to get people here,” she said. “We’ve been planning this since June, and so far we’re very happy with the results.”
But not all mall shoppers were enthusiastic.
Kailash Narayan, 48, and his son, Manu, 12, waited patiently on the second level of The Oaks mall, heads deep in novels they had just bought at B. Dalton Booksellers.
“We like to come here, buy books, sit down and read, and let the family do the shopping,” said Narayan, of Westlake Village. His wife and two daughters, he said, were off somewhere in the shopping center, intent on their purchasing.
“They want to go to too many clothing stores,” Manu explained.
For Kailash Narayan, the day after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a stressful season in his life. Many years, he said, he has shopped until Christmas Eve, frantically looking for the right present for his wife.
She returns nearly everything he buys her, he said.
“I’ve already got one present for her,” he said, pointing to a shopping bag at his side, “so at least, that’s a start.”
The Narayans said they have not cut back during the recession, but then again, Kailash Narayan said, the family always tries to keep Christmas purchasing to a minimum.
At the county’s other major mall, volunteers relied on the Christmas spirit to move shoppers to open their pocketbooks.
One woman brought her children to the table at the Buenaventura Mall to donate to a charity for abused and neglected children.
“I don’t have a lot of money myself, but I think it’s important that my kids learn about helping others,” said Ventura resident Penny Brown. “It’s a good tradition, and it’s what Christmas is all about.”
Constance Sommer is a Times staff writer and Matthew Mosk is a Times correspondent.
* MAIN STORY: A1
