Many Retailers Finding Good Cheer in Holiday Sales

Christmas is still 10 days away but many Ventura County retailers from the upscale malls of the Conejo Valley to the outlet centers of the Oxnard Plain are ready to celebrate early.

Store owners and mall managers across the county are saying a healthy economy and recovering job market are largely responsible for stronger than usual holiday sales that, for most retailers, account for a significant portion of the year’s business.

The county’s strong holiday retail market mirrors the rest of Southern California where consumer confidence has helped put the region ahead of much of the nation in holiday sales.

But Ventura County is also benefiting from an array of new retail centers that have attracted shoppers from Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

“People are finding that Ventura County is easy to reach,” said Peggy Wimberley, general manager of the Oxnard Factory Outlet Center. “Traffic is not as bad as in some of the inland [shopping] areas. And any density of retailers is going to bring people from outside the area.”

And while common sense would indicate that the proliferation of new retail centers would dilute the available dollars, reports of strong sales are widespread.

At the specialty stores of The Oaks mall, for instance, sales were up a moderate 6% to 8% from last year. At the Camarillo Premium Outlets, many stores are reporting the best sales since the center opened in 1994. At the Oxnard Factory Outlet stores, traffic during the Thanksgiving holiday was down 3% but sales were up nearly 10%.

“Despite the competition, we are doing well,” Wimberley said. “But we are not setting the world on fire. We don’t have 50% increases. But I don’t think you are going to find that anywhere.”

Macy’s reported that its Ventura and Thousand Oaks department stores are doing significantly better than last year. And managers at the Buenaventura Mall in Ventura, The Esplanade in Oxnard and the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks say business is good.

As in the rest of Southern California, clothes are among the best-selling items this season in Ventura County. And analysts believe the fickle tastes of Americans are in part responsible.

“There seemed to be an end to the grunge look as an acceptable fashion statement,” said Richard Giss, a retail analyst with Deloitte and Touche, one of the nation’s leading accounting and consulting firms. “With the grunge look you could go to your closet and pull anything that you found and feel fine about yourself. There are indications that people are more conscious of labels and more conscious of style.”

The rebound in the market for clothes, which had been soft for the past three to four years, is boosting overall holiday sales, Giss said. “Apparel is doing well and that is a huge part of the holiday season. Next to toys, it is the No. 1 item people mention,” he added.

Macy’s spokeswoman Merle Goldstone said demand was particularly strong for women’s apparel, denim products and young men’s clothing. At The Esplanade, girls’ clothes and athletic shoes are among the hottest items, General Manager Sandra Dellibovi said.

Shoppers looking for good deals on clothing are finding them, Giss said.

“People are seeing stylish items at price points that are lower than they were in the last couple of years,” he said.

That is the reason Larry Ober, a partner of Jhane Barnes Xtra, gave for the strong sales at the Camarillo Premium Outlets store. The upscale men’s clothing retailer is 15% ahead of last year, Ober said.

“We were actually well over 30% before the rains hit,” Ober said.

But shoppers are not just looking for discounts. The market for upscale clothing is also strong, Giss said. Stores such as Bloomingdale’s and Saks, which have opened recently in the San Fernando Valley, are attracting a lot of traffic, he said.

In Ventura County, shoppers turn to the outlets for high-end brands at discount prices.

“The higher-end goods are the ones that are getting a lot of attention,” said Michele Rothstein, vice president of Chelsea GCA Realty Inc., the New Jersey-based company that owns the Camarillo Premium Outlets. “At the outlets you are getting more for your money and so you are able to buy a better brand.”

With the proliferation of outlet centers, however, the deals found at the discounted stores are not as good as they used to be, Giss said.

Holiday sales figures for the county will not be available until next year when sales tax revenues reach the cities’ coffers, but the strong sales come as no surprise to many retailers.

Anticipating a busy season, retailers began beefing up their work force in September and October, boosting employment in the sector by 5.3% from the previous year. According to analysts, holiday retail hiring had not occurred that early in the year since prior to the recession.

And with the Thanksgiving holiday coming only four weekends before Christmas--instead of the usual five--retailers began marketing the holiday season earlier.

“We have been promoting the season since October,” Rothstein said. “The smartest holiday shoppers should start early. We promoted that and it appears to have paid off.”

During the past week, heavy rains slowed the traffic at many outdoor shopping centers, such as the Oxnard and Camarillo outlet centers and the Janss Marketplace. But the clear skies have returned and retailers are expecting even brisker sales in the final days of the holiday season.

“I think [traffic] is going to go bonkers starting with this weekend,” said Wanda Onandia, general manager of Words on Wine, a store that personalizes wine labels. “I am a firm believer that it is going to go nuts.”

Words on Wine, which has been at The Oaks mall for six years, opened a second store at the Buenaventura Mall last month. Traffic at the Ventura mall is strong, but slower than at The Oaks, she said.

Even sales of computers and electronics, which have been lackluster across the country, appear to be doing well at some of the county’s small retailers.

“We are doing substantially better than last year,” said Larry Tartisel, marketing manager of All City Software and Computers, a Camarillo store with $6 million in annual sales. Tartisel said holiday business has nearly doubled at the store.

The Bose Factory Store, an audio speakers and consumer electronics store in Camarillo, is also doing well, store manager Janice Adler said.

One place where business appears to be exceeding expectations of merchants is the new Promenade at Westlake--a center known for its upscale stores and busy parking lot.

“It phenomenal,” said Brigette Baxter, owner of Willows, a gift and home-furnishing store. Baxter, whose store had been across the street at the North Ranch Mall for the past four years, said holiday sales have more than doubled this season.

“I think that people are spending more money,” Baxter said. “Prices are about the same as last year, and I see a lot of the high-ticket items going out the door.”

But, of course, the holiday season is the time to buy toys.

Serendipity Toys in Ojai is just one of the many stores around the county that says business is good.

Just don’t ask for Tickle Me Elmos. The toy, which giggles and shakes when you touch it, has been sold out throughout most of the nation.

“We have many, many, many phone calls,” store owner Lilly Barthelemy said. “People call us as a last resort thinking we are a specialty store that may carry it.”

You could try the Internet. Private parties have been reselling the Sesame Street toy for more than 10 times its price, she said.