What’s Hot, What’s Not : Moderately priced gifts and practical items are selling well. But high-ticket items aren’t.
Contempo Casuals in Torrance is wrapping up a good holiday season that saw its young customers popping for $120 party dresses and fancy tapestry vests. But an assistant manager says a standout seller, at the rate of 20 a day, was a stocking-stuffer package of nine nail polishes for $10.
Rizzoli International Bookstore at South Coast Plaza, known as a purveyor of glossy coffee table tomes, nonetheless reports that its hottest book of the season (nearly 1,000 sold) was a little $6.95 spoof by Spy magazine called “Separated at Birth,” featuring photo pairings of unlikely duos who look amazingly alike.
At Bullock’s stores throughout the Southland, customers grabbed up anything beaded, studded or otherwise made glitzy. But the superstar item was packaged potpourri for $7.50 or $9.50.
“Anything below $10 is bound to sell well,” said Dave Campbell, Los Angeles district manager for Best Products, a discount chain that has also sold thousands of bags of the sweet-and-spicy-smelling concoction. “This has really been a year where people, and it’s hard to say why, have been avoiding high-ticket purchases.”
Storms Helped Business
Indeed, with some exceptions, such as the fast-moving $235 cashmere men’s sweaters at Nordstrom and the $479 Sports Page device at the Price of His Toys that transmits real-time scores and other sports information via satellite, holiday shoppers in Southern California opted this year for moderately priced gifts, a sampling of harried retailers indicated Friday.
And that is bound to ensure that the season lives up--or is it down?--to merchants’ expectations of only modest sales gains over last year’s holiday.
Many retailers as of midday Friday were expecting a last-minute buying wave. The presence of two more shopping days than last year, they noted, prompted many gift seekers to procrastinate and made for a nail-biter for merchants.
“We’re hellbent for leather here,” said Kevin Washington, manager of the REI cooperative in San Dimas. The outdoor-equipment store had watched its ski wear business slide in the 80-degree days of early December, he said, but the recent winter storms have caused business to bounce back.
Men’s and women’s ski jackets ($99) and pants ($55) have been big sellers. Not on Southern California shoppers’ gift lists were $99 or $169 down mattress pads and covers better suited to colder climes. “We have virtually all of them left,” Washington said. Both Bullock’s and Nordstrom reported strong sales of novelty sweaters with beads, feathers, leather and other trims. On the pricey side, Bullock’s “could have used more assortment” in Waterford crystal, a strong seller, according to Cheryl Fox, publicity director. And Nordstrom in Costa Mesa found no taker for a one-of-a-kind Valentino pink chiffon and lacy strapless gown for $8,100. “Unfortunately, that is still available,” quipped spokeswoman Lucy Hamilton.
At the Price of His Toys, an adult-toy store in Beverly Hills, offbeat was in, such as a $99 tea kettle that whistles “Tea for Two,” whereas “things that were less playful” were not, said Alvin Kupperman, vice president of marketing. Software programs and telephones lost out to the store’s most popular item, a battery-operated, moving pyramid clock for $39.95. Then again, there was that tape on self-esteem, which failed to win much respect. “Who’s going to give that to someone for Christmas?” Kupperman shrugged.
Some Sit on Shelves
For the younger set, the word was basic. Demand was phenomenal for the Barbie doll, a product introduced nearly 30 years ago. “It was the strongest year ever for Barbie,” said Gayle Hoepner, president and owner of Toys International in Glendale Galleria, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and Century City Shopping Center. The store also couldn’t get enough Ghostbusters characters by Kenner.
Modest prices didn’t assure success. Kragen Auto Parts in La Mirada marked down a bunch of Roger Rabbit and California Raisin window stick-up toys (like the ubiquitous Garfield) to $6.75 from $15, but they’re still sitting there. And, whereas the store sold out its supply of 119-piece tool sets, the $10 screwdriver sets went nowhere. “I didn’t sell any of those unless I kind of pressured somebody,” said Jeanie Silva, assistant manager.
In consumer electronics, compact disc players and $1,000 camcorders continued to sell well, but Circuit City lost some sales of TVs and VCRs throughout the season because of spot shortages. Portable products, such as boom boxes, Walkmans, cordless phones and phone answering devices, were standouts, according to Richard L. Sharp, president and chief executive of the chain, based in Richmond, Va. “We believe this will be a good but not great Christmas,” with 5% sales gains at stores open at least a year, he added.
Given the crush of last-minute shoppers, it was no surprise to encounter a few stressed store people. A call to Williams-Sonoma, a tony kitchen shop at South Coast Plaza, prompted a frenzied response. “Whatever you’re calling about, it couldn’t be as important as this woman standing in front of me,” the store manager said. “We’re just swamped, and there’s nothing left.”
