Posted on 11/29/2004 11:47:56 PM PST by Pikamax
Some retailers had luxurious weekend But discounters report sales were disappointing By DAVID KAPLAN
Retailers use the Thanksgiving weekend to gauge how the Christmas season will go.
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This year, though, it's hard to spot a general trend.
"I think the start was very mixed," said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a national retail consulting and investment banking firm in New York.
Some retail segments did a booming business, including luxury, electronics, online retail, certain specialty apparel chains and department stores like Sears and J.C. Penney that had early bird specials.
However, discounters didn't perform well. For example, retail giant Wal-Mart and dollar stores had disappointing sales, he said.
For retailers, the start of the holiday shopping season was "tough for the masses — great for the classes," Davidowitz said. "It's a tale of two cities."
The well-to-do have money to burn, he said, while a family of four with a $40,000 income is "pressed tremendously" because of rising gas prices and health care costs.
Over the weekend 133 million Americans shopped, each spending an average of $265 for a total of $22.8 billion, the National Retail Federation said. The federation projects $220 billion in total holiday sales.
This year, Friday's business was much stronger than Saturday's. Total retail sales were up 10.8 percent the day after Thanksgiving, compared with the same day last year, and down 6.5 percent Saturday, according to ShopperTrak.
Retailers that offered door-buster sales fared well over the weekend.
"Wal-Mart didn't promote and didn't win," said Marshall Cohen, chief analyst at the NPD Group. "But I'm not worried about Wal-Mart. They'll be fine. They've got a lot of money in the bank. Do they want to dilute it with deep discounts? They probably will at some point.In fact, don't be surprised if they start this coming weekend."
Cohen compared the holiday season to the tortoise and the hare. Retailers are revved up, he said, "but guess who's the tortoise? Consumers. They're taking a slow and methodical approach. They don't have any more money this year."
Over the weekend, MasterCard saw retail use climb 9.3 percent, compared with last year, and Visa reported an increase of 6.1 percent.
Some analysts tout those higher credit card figures as a forecast of a booming Christmas, but Cohen said it may just mean that credit card users will max out earlier this season.
Local retail business seems to mirror national trends.
At West Oaks, enticing sales on Black Friday, retail speak for turning a profit, at the center's department stores — Foley's, Mervyn's, Dillard's, Sears and J.C. Penney — brought in hordes of shoppers, mall general manager Doris Fram-Castillo said.
Conrad Hablizel, store manager of the West Oaks Sears, described the weekend as "fantastic, a record-breaker."
Academy Sports & Outdoors "had a very strong weekend," said Allen McConnelly, vice president, director of store operations. Among the strongest sellers were trampolines, hunting gear, insulated jackets, wind suits and "anything turkey-frying related," he said.
Ann McClintock, owner of Ann's Fine Gifts and Clocks, said the weekend after Thanksgiving is "traditionally not our busiest. We don't have door-buster specials."
However, her sales over Thanksgiving weekend were better than last year's, she said.
Cristina Acuna, a manager at Cactus Music & Video, said sales may be better this year compared with last, partly because of some big music releases.
every year, it's the same story.
Call it Christmas, the Birthday of Christ not the Retailathon Holiday, like the Libs, a bunch of idiots.
Fine with me. Our family stayed home and ate turkey and roast beef sandwiches. Being pushed around by a bunch of smelly, ill-mannered, tatooed, pierced slime is not our idea of "shopping." We guess we're "old fashioned" at the croney old age of 53. Malls, in our opinion is for junkies and dolts. Few have manners. Most are rude, crude, and unrefined. We've seen spitting, blowing snot, skate-boarding... pathetic environment of smell and inexusable behavior. IMOHO
DemonRats really do not support America. They want economic forecasts to be "bad" so that they can continue to bitch and whine about President Bush.
In economics class, you will occassionally learn about leftist protest plans to withdraw all of their funds from a bank on a certain day.
How about everyone in the Western Hemisphere coordinate a time and we will all "jump" onto the Earth at the same time? Maybe we should all flush our toilets at the same time for s***ts and grins.
HOUSTON PING
But but but I thought that the internet was KILLING CD sales. You mean another re-issue of the Beatles' early albums will still help the stores to make the bottom line?
Also perhaps the fear that the stock market would turn down under a Kerry presidency has passed. No election related terrorist strike occurred either.
People can close the purstrings when there is some doubt to the future of this nation.
When is it not mixed? When is there there any good news that Howard doesn't have to offset with bad news? I.E. that high end retailers did well relative to last year?
The answer is, when the democrats are in power. Then it will be a 'banner' year 'exceptional' sales and 'historic' records.
Lamestream media, may they go the way of the winds and be forgotten.
I think you're missing the bigger picture which has more to do about an economy with increasing debt and decreasing spending. Is there no one in here who is educated?
There is a distinct parallel to the MSM's picture of the election' isn't there?
Nope, nope......no ejukashun here..........
I hate crowds, so I did most of my shopping online or from catalogs. The UPS, FedEx, and USPS drivers must have my address memorized by now.
I heard on the radio the reason why there hasn't been much reporting in the sales is due to the fact that more people are either buying online or buying gift cards..
Oh really? How about stinkin' taxes for everything under the moon?
Blows me away how so many either can't see or ignore this factor.
This is an interesting thing. This weekend the MSM starts this drumbeat of how our deficits are too high and that the rest of the world is pulling its money out of the US because of deficits and our poor savings habits.
Now they are crying about how people are not spending enough!
I belive that the rest of the world NEEDS us to be big spenders to keep their economies running. Who will the chinese sell all that stuff they are building to? If the rest of the world is not spending and buying like we are who will the Japaneses of the Europeans gonna sell all their stuff to?
5.6-.7 unemployment used to be thought of as FABULOUS! almost FULL EMPLOYMENT. Now we are told that it is practically a new depression out there. It seems to me that the MSM should be HAPPY that we are not buying so much. Why are they complaining?
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