CATHERINE EBERHARD -- Retail Roundup

If you’re in the mood to shop this week, there are some great deals to

be found on Main Street in Downtown.

Clothes-Minded, at 200 Main St., has a full selection of women’s

clothing marked down to $15 or less. This store gets shipments of new

merchandise twice each week and it has plenty of sweaters, skirts, print

dresses, jeans and even swimwear for only $15. I was surprised by the

quality of the merchandise and the fact that Clothes-Minded had several

brand names like Rampage, Bisou, Express and Bebe.

Boasting that it offers “the highest quality at the lowest prices,”

Clothes-Minded has seven other locations in Southern California besides

the Huntington Beach store. The Main Street store has been thriving for

the past three years and is one of its busiest locations.

Clothes-Minded caters to women of all ages with wild young designs and

more conservative older fashions. Along with clothing, the store offers

various accessories like sunglasses and several styles of jewelry. There

is even a $10 rack of clothing that is further reduced.

Make sure that you take advantage of the dressing rooms to try on any

clothing you may be interested in at Clothes-Minded, since all sales are

final and there are no exchanges or returns.

More information on Clothes-Minded can be found by calling (714)

374-1323 or by visiting 200 Main Street, Suite #104.

Another store with a wide selection of merchandise on sale is

Beachcombers Surf & Sport, at 207 Main St. Advertising itself as “cool

stuff for cool people,” it sells primarily to young, active customers.

There is a huge selection of skateboards and surfboards at

Beachcombers, along with all the appropriate apparel and accessories that

go along with these two sports. Men’s and women’s clothing, backpacks,

caps, watches and other items are also for sale. Huntington Beach logo

T-shirts in a variety of designs are available for $12.99 or two for $20.99. At the front of the store there is a discount rack offering

30-70% off selected merchandise.

Beachcombers General Manager Leslie Ecker is a Huntington Beach

resident who has worked for the store for the past 10 years. He prides

himself on delivering “the best customer service on Main Street.” Ecker

told me how the hiring policies and interviews at Beachcombers are the

secret to its success “I only hire surfers because that’s the predominant

product we sell,” he said. “We use a 3 to 6 person hiring panel to grill

each potential employee and that’s how we end up with a Navy SEAL team of

salesman. The best of the best.”

Ecker goes by the nickname ‘Base Jumper’ since he enjoys parachute

jumping from buildings and cliffs in his spare time. He told me it is a

longtime tradition at Beachcombers that all employees get a nickname and

their own business cards after six months of working at the store.

Ecker claims that Beachcombers sales are so well-known in the surfing

community that he gets customers from as far as Tahiti. These surfers

come to Huntington Beach for our legendary waves and they always make a

stop in Beachcombers while they’re here.

Now through November, or while supplies last, Beachcombers is offering

a buy one, get one free special on all bikini swimsuits. The store even

allows the tops and bottoms to be mixed and matched for sizes.

A buy one, get one free sale is also in effect for all men’s board

shorts. Beachcombers has a full wall of men’s shorts to choose from and

there is a large selection. For a limited time, Billabong brand clothing

is 30% off and Reef brand sandals are 20% off.

To check out the merchandise for yourself, visit Beachcombers Surf &

Sport at 207 Main St. in Downtown Huntington Beach. Details on sale

items can be found by calling (714) 960-0031.

* CATHERINE EBERHARD is a Huntington Beach resident and her column

focuses on local businesses. If you have items for Retail Roundup, e-mail

them to RetailRoundup@aol.com or fax to (714) 965-7174.