Swap Meet Merchants Hope for a Christmas Blessing
As Christmas approaches, Santa’s little helpers are no doubt working overtime in their North Pole hideaway. Equally frenzied shoppers in Los Angeles will be scurrying around this week in last-minute searches to find the perfect gifts for loved ones.
While most Angelenos will be flocking to malls and other retail centers for the Christmas chaos, many residents of Central Los Angeles rely on a different sort of venue to find holiday bargains--the local swap meet.
At the Slauson Swapmeet in South-Central, merchants hard hit by the recession are counting on the last-minute rush to help them through what has been an unusually slow holiday buying season, even by recessionary standards. If past seasons are any indication, the merchants are likely to find that the last-minute holiday spirit is indeed a blessing.
In past years, up to 12,000 people armed with cash and credit cards have invaded the swap meet each day during the busiest shopping days of the year: the five days before Christmas.
Unlike swap meets of years past, where used car batteries and old kitchen appliances were sold, today’s indoor, climate-controlled facilities feature imported clothing, gourmet coffee, sporting goods and custom-made jewelry.
In short, they sell all the merchandise needed to make any sleepy-eyed person smile on Christmas morning.
But the biggest smiles come from the shoppers who find brand-name goods at discount prices. Slumping sales have meant slashed prices in many cases, and savvy shoppers are taking advantage.
Terrell White and Donald Steele, 18-year-olds who work at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, say they prefer to Christmas shop at the swap meets because they carry trendy items at lower prices.
“It’s the same stuff as the malls, but cheaper,” White said, standing next to a booth that monograms shirts and hats.
Lifting up his sweat shirt to reveal crisp, low-hanging, baggy black jeans, White said: “See these? These are Karl Kani, the hottest style going. You can get them $5 to $10 cheaper here.” The jeans cost $90 in a department store.
Although holiday shoppers delight in savings, some store owners feel as if the Grinch entered their booths.
December typically accounts for 15% to 20% of annual revenue, but sales so far this month are behind past years’, some shop owners said.
“I’ve been here for four years, and I’ve never seen it any worse,” said Dogond Kim, who sells jeans and dress shirts for men and women at the Slauson Swapmeet. “It’s at least 50% less.”
Jewelry store owner Jong Kim also hopes business will improve. “This is pretty bad. Maybe it will pick up closer to Christmas,” he said last week as a few shoppers strolled past his display shelf.
Although some shop owners are hurting, shoppers such as Mississippi resident Joyce Terry are excited.
“Where I live, we don’t have stores with all this inexpensive variety under one roof. I’m here for a convention, and in the last week, I’ve come to the swap meet twice. I’m going straight to the airport after I finish Christmas shopping today,” said the 36-year-old teacher.
For the swap meets during the holiday season, foot traffic is the name of the game. The management at Shoppers World on La Brea Avenue in Baldwin Hills offers holiday enticements to draw potential money-spenders.
Every week in December, $3,000 is given away to a lucky shopper whose name is drawn at random, and every day, a color television is handed over to a customer.
On a recent afternoon, the public address system filled the sprawling 250,000-square-foot facility, announcing the television winner. Shoppers stopped, listened and hoped. A woman’s name was read. The shopping continued.
Meanwhile, the song “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” performed to a hip-hop beat, pumped out of big box speakers at a nearby record store-booth.
Diversity in stores is what South-Central resident Clarice Bennett likes most about the swap meet. Bennett, who was shopping for five grandchildren ranging in age from 3 to 14, said she can find something for everyone.
“I’m trying to buy real fast. To be honest, my feet get tired walking around sometimes, but I think I can do all my shopping in maybe two or three visits,” she said as she looked at bright red toy boats.
“I usually like to buy them toys and clothes. They’re all different in age, but this place has things in all shapes and sizes. It’s easier to come here and not worry about parking at five different stores somewhere else.”
To ensure diversity, Slauson Swapmeet General Manager Chris Ishida said he was careful in selecting businesses to fill the 120,000-square-foot building.
“For instance, we have 20 ladies clothing booths and 10 jewelry booths, so we probably wouldn’t take another one of either,” Ishida said from his glass-walled office, which overlooks the sprawling indoor marketplace. “It takes a good two to three years to strike the balance we’re looking for.”
