Deals Appeal to O.C. Shoppers on ‘Day After’

Orange County shoppers turned out heavily on Tuesday and found big bargains as department stores and specialty shops scrambled to rebound from a holiday shopping season that many retailers described as one of the most disappointing in recent years.

Despite unusually heavy discounting in the days leading up to Christmas, traditional “day-after” clearance sales were the norm throughout the county because consumer demand failed to meet even moderate expectations of many retailers locally and nationally, analysts said.

Some retail economists who had predicted 4% to 5% nationwide sales increases now say that sales will probably rise by only 2% to 3% over the same period in 1994. In contrast, holiday season sales in 1994 rose by 6%.

Analysts say sales in Southern California should increase about 3%, a relatively healthy performance in the wake of the region’s prolonged recession. Many chains said their Southland stores have performed relatively well.

That, however, is little consolation to a retailing industry suffering from some basic shifts in consumer attitudes and demographics, analysts said. These changes could portend continued slow growth for the Southern California and national economy.

“There has been fundamental change in consumers’ attitudes built during a recessionary economy--and it’s a mentality that’s value-driven,” said Richard Giss, a partner at the Los Angeles offices of the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche.

“Shoppers will no longer even look at merchandise unless it has a ‘sale’ sign on it,” said New Jersey-based retail economist Kurt Barnard.

For some shoppers, said Barnard, the reluctance to spend is reinforced by concern about high consumer debt, stagnant wage growth and job insecurity resulting from downsizing at major companies.

San Clemente building contractor Mark Mandeville, 37, was among several shoppers Tuesday who said they had spent considerably less on gifts this holiday season.

“With the shaky economy, it can be disaster at any minute,” said Mandeville, who was shopping at Mission Viejo Mall with his wife and son. “We spent about 50% less this year [on holiday gifts]. We spent about $800 because we’re trying to cut back and pay off bills.”

Indeed, stores in every retail segment--from Nordstrom and its menswear sale at South Coast Plaza to the annual holiday decorations sale at Images gift shop in Irvine--tried to appeal to the bargain hunters.

Shoppers in Orange County were wooed by advertisements and store window signs trumpeting huge discounts and no payments until mid-1996 and beyond.

“I’ve already been to Target, and after this we’re going to HomeBase and then the outlet mall in Cabazon,” Irvine resident Marsha Wilson said while waiting for Images to open at 8 a.m. “There are some great bargains, but I’m not going to the big malls.”

At Nordstrom’s South Coast Plaza store hundreds of shoppers gathered before the 7 a.m. opening to take advantage of the men’s apparel sale. Within minutes, they were jockeying for position with two television news crews.

“I think this is the last time,” said Newport Beach attorney Rick Kranz, a five-year Nordstrom sale veteran who saved about $140 on three pairs of shoes and three dress shirts. “Some of these people are crazed. . . . It’s just not worth it.”

While Tuesday’s clearance sales were critical for some merchants, it was already too late for others. Mall posters advertising some “store closing sales” were more evident and a sign of tough retailing times. Those store-closing signs also pushed bargain-hungry shoppers to expect more in the way of price-cutting.

Bargains drew out Mission Viejo resident Debra Antonie, 40, on a brisk Tuesday morning in Orange County. Antonie stopped at a local nursery shortly after it opened at 7 a.m. before rushing to the Bullock’s Department Store at Mission Viejo Mall.

At Bullock’s, Antonie waited patiently with more than 30 other shoppers who were lined up at the Christmas boutique, where decorations and wrapping paper were marked down by at least 50%.

“I couldn’t stay home knowing that all these deals were out there,” Antonie said. “I’ve already got a lot of shopping done for next year.”

Michelle Butorac, 27, carted away two bags filled with deeply discounted holiday decorations from Mission Viejo Mall. The Rancho Santa Margarita resident said she cut back on holiday spending because of concerns about the economy.

“I could have spent a fortune in there,” said Butorac, whose family pulled names from a hat and placed a $30 limit on gifts. “Everybody is really happy this year. Instead of giving a lot of little stuff, everyone got what they wanted.”

John Luna, a Bay Area resident who’s visiting family in Orange County, also said that his family had cut back on spending by drawing names from a hat. “I don’t think people are spending as much as in the past,” said Luna, who returned a present at the Toys “R” Us store in Santa Ana. “There are so many of us, and it’s getting so expensive.”

Concern about weak retail spending was a factor in the Federal Reserve’s lowering of interest rates last week. However, the picture is a little brighter in Southern California. Johnson Redbook Service, which tracks retailing nationwide, said sales in Southern California were stronger than expected.

Sears was among the retailers faring well in the Southland. The company said it had its strongest weekly sales in history for the week ended last Saturday, partly because sales in the Southwest were so strong.

Federated Department Stores--operator of the Bullock’s, Broadway, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s chains--was also upbeat about its performance in California and other Western states.

This will be the final post-Christmas sale in which the Broadway name will be part of the Southland’s retailing landscape. Federated Department Stores acquired the Los Angeles-based Broadway Stores Inc. in October. The company is converting 40 of the stores--or nearly half--into Macy’s and selling nine more to Sears Roebuck & Co.

Final retailers’ sales results for the month of December won’t be available until early January. But heavy price-cutting nationwide apparently helped many shopping mall retailers boost sales for the final seven shopping days before Christmas. Sales for the period were 19% higher than the same period a year ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. (These results don’t include department stores, strip malls, stand-alone stores and outlet malls.)

As a result, sales at regional malls were up 4.7% for the month from Nov. 24 to Christmas Eve, the council said. But the deep discounts slashed profit margins.

“It’s a flat picture as far as profits,” said Tony Cherbak, a retail industry analyst with Deloitte & Touche in Costa Mesa. “People just held off this season, and the little rally last weekend was too little, too late.”

Correspondent Dan Margolis contributed to this story.