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ready...set...SHOP!
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December 26, 1997: 3:30 p.m. ET
Bargains galore, the Grinch goes shopping in this post-holiday season
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Leo Linton insists it is not an abiding fetish for black turtlenecks that drew him to Macy's flagship store in Manhattan Friday morning.
Rather, an entirely different weakness induced the 26-year-old shopper from Weehawken, N.J., to rouse himself at 6 AM -- on his coveted day off: the post-Christmas markdown.
"This will be the third one, but this one will be quality," Linton said, unabashed, as he fingered the droopy ribbed-wool collar of a soon-to-be addition to his wardrobe. It was one of countless, slightly rumpled specimens beckoning from the turtleneck bin in the menswear department.
And at 30 percent off an already reduced tag of $29.50, the price was more than right for Linton, a human blip on the nation's bargain-hunting radar today.
This holiday season may go down in Yuletide retail lore as the one in which the Grinch stole Christmas from the seller -- and handed it to the shopper. After a lackluster season for sales, retailers are racing to slash prices further on bloated inventories Santa left behind.
The upshot, for consumers, is juicy bargain clearances on everything from clothing to candelabras to Alaskan king crab, with markdowns often hitting 70 percent or more. Retailers hope to unleash a bottom-line shopping binge to compensate for anemic sales since Thanksgiving. Early prognoses going into December had retailers racking up sales gains of at least four percent over the previous month.
Instead, sales growth at many anchor department stores rose a scant 2 to 3 percent this holiday over last year's, even as profit margins dwindled to break-even levels. Economic indicators of a robust economy, rising personal incomes and low inflation took a back seat, analysts say, to consumer caprice and changing shopping habits.
"In spite of vibrant economic conditions, holiday shoppers continued to hold back and remained very value conscious, taking advantage of retail promotions and deep discounts," said William Ford, a senior economic adviser for Telecheck, a check-acceptance company with 167,000 subscribers.
Using same-store comparisons of the dollar value of authorized checks at 27,000 locations, Telecheck found that holiday sales at large chains like Kmart Corp., Sears Roebuck and Co., and Dayton Hudson Corp. all came in slightly below expectations. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, also was reporting below-plan sales at its discount outlets, but a moderately stronger showing at its Sam's Club Warehouse stores.
Despite discounts of up to 77 percent on casual sportswear, suits and dresses at luxury retailers like Bloomingdale's, there were few signs Friday of a shopper stampede to the cash register.
"I think people are waiting," said an optimistic Sharon Hanley, manager of Conway's 7th Avenue store in Manhattan, which specializes in marked-down merchandise. Standing amid lonely racks of discounted crew neck sweaters and fleece tops, Hanley surmised that most people have a long weekend "and they don't want to spoil it."
Luxury stores that cater to affluent clients appeared immune to the sluggishness that plagued their downmarket counterparts. Saks Fifth Avenue reported few speed bumps as shoppers surged through its airy aisles, trundling bagfuls of holiday booty.
Some analysts noted that the bargain quest that normally breaks out in earnest the morning after the mistletoe comes down began earlier this year. The effect was to diffuse the holiday season over a longer period, relieving Christmas of its be-all-and-end-all retail aura.
Certain experts took issue with the doom-and-gloom portrayal of holiday retailing.
"Some of the department store sales don't make sense to me," Ken Goldstein, an economist with the Conference Board, told CNN. Golstein predicted that personal consumption would continue to grow, spurred by a "big increase" in business spending on technology by firms looking to upgrade or replace aging equipment.
Back in the retailing aisles, however, many of the shoppers milling about Friday had come to return unwanted goods, rather than stock up on new ones.
"I think it's nuts," said Ron Haines, a friend of Linton's, glancing at the bleary-eyed shopaholics riffling through the racks of back-logged inventory around him. "Normally, I wouldn't be here."
Then he gingerly removed an unworn white turtleneck from a shopping bag -- a discounted holiday gift from Linton.
"I'm returning it," he said, without a hint of remorse.
--by staff writer Douglas Herbert
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