Retailers mixed about shopping season
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Area retailers have mixed reviews on the most wonderful time of the year when it comes to consumer spending.
A sampling of four local stores revealed Sears and United Diamond Brokers are well pleased with their holiday sales. Lowe’s and Hastings report sales have been so-so and are hopeful for one last-minute surge to bolster the bottom line.
At Sears, owner Leo Barrett says the store in Northgate Shopping Center is flying high. The local store had spectacular sales the day after Thanksgiving and boasted the top sales of any Sears store in the region this past Saturday.
“We’re real happy with how we’re doing,” said Barrett. “I’ve even sold three lawnmowers the last few weeks.
“But the big thing has been TVs. People are buying big screens and high-definition TVs. After 2009, you won’t be able to buy a regular TV.”
Barrett said tools are always popular to give as Christmas gifts and also said it’s freezer season. He said one thing that’s helped his sales is the 0 percent interest Sear’s offers on selected items. “It’s true 0 percent interest,” said Barrett.
At Hastings, store manager Felix Diaz said the entertainment industry in general is suffering from sales that are down a few percent from last year. He said part of the blame lies on the highly touted XBox 360.
“Microsoft had such a media blitz about the games and their supply hasn’t been able to meet the demand,” said Diaz. “That’s what people are wanting but we don’t have any.”
The XBox 360s went on sale at midnight Nov. 21. Diaz said our local Hastings had 16 units and they were all reserved. “I haven’t had any since Nov. 21 and I can’t get any,” he said.
He described sales of other video games as “phenomenal” and credited several in-store promotions with that success. Hastings currently has a sale where you can buy two used video games and get the third one for 1 cent. New games that are normally $49 can be bought for $39.
But the reviews aren’t as glowing in other parts of the store, namely music sales. Diaz said the artists are to blame as much as anything.
“The music industry really hasn’t given us any good releases,” said Diaz. “Everything that’s coming out is a greatest hits, or re-released music with three new songs that’s been done in an effort to make more money.”
At United Diamond Brokers, located in Plaza Shopping Center, owner Greg Yates said Christmas sales have really picked up in recent days.
“The thing I’ve found about last-minute shopping is it’s something that’s done at the last minute,” said Yates. “The two weeks before Christmas is when it really gets busy.”
Yates said the Hildalgo line is extremely popular, as are white gold items and diamond-studded earrings. He says he’s happy with the extra sales around Christmas, but said he’s also noticed a change in consumer spending over the last five or 10 years.
“People don’t wait for Christmas for that big purchase the way they used to,” said Yates. “They make major purchases all year long, for anniversaries, for birthdays, for engagements.
“I think credit cards are a big part of that. You don’t have to have the money. You can get it now, which is what everybody wants. So we are thankful for our Christmas sales, but really we’ve been fortunate to be busy all year long.”
Yates takes pride in carrying one-of-a-kind items because he says his customers are constantly searching for unique gifts to give on special occasions.
At Lowe’s, assistant manager Steve Littleton said the focus shifts around the holidays. Lumber and building materials aren’t high priorities the way they are at other times of the year.
“We don’t sell a lot of house packages,” said Littleton. “It’s more tools and personal gifts.”
Littleton said he doesn’t know how the final numbers will look, but said he thinks there will be room for improvement.
“You could always do better,” he said. “Overall, the traffic flow has been pretty good. Some areas have been above what we’ve expected and other areas have been below.”