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NeMiss retailers expect plenty of shopping, despite slowdown
(Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo, MS) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 19--TUPELO -- Depending on whom you talk to, the upcoming holiday season for retailers is either anything but cheery or anything but horrid.
In September, the usually chipper National Retail Federation projected retail sales to grow a meager 2.2 percent, to about $470 billion. The growth is far below the 10-year average of 4.4 percent.
Also in September, TNS Retail Forward projected November and December retail sales to grow at only 1.5 percent, a 17-year low.
Then came last week's report by the Commerce Department that retail sales in October fell by the largest amount on record.
Said Ken Perkins, president of research company RetailMetrics LLC, "It's just another of many signals that it is going to be a really difficult and painful holiday season for the retailers."
Not so fast, some Northeast Mississippi retailers counter.
Jim Troxler, who opened The Village Green on West Main Street nearly 30 years ago, said the retail sector is holding its own as far as he's concerned.
"We have our store here and we also going to Jackson to Northpark Mall, setting up a temporary store from September to January, so we have two points of reference," he said. "And from what I see, I think we're on track to do as well as last year. We're a little behind this year at this point, but that's because Thanksgiving was a week earlier last year, and Thanksgiving is the week that traditionally the holiday season begins."
The Village Green sells collectibles, gifts and books, and also has a small restaurant inside. At midday on Tuesday, nearly a dozen customers were browsing -- and buying.
"I don't see the doom and gloom in the retail sector that so many people are talking about," Troxler said.
Cynthia Crawford is one shopper who plans to splurge for the holidays. Gas prices have come off record highs, allowing Crawford to look forward to holiday sales.
"We started cutting back a lot over the summer, and we're still careful about what we buy," she said, "but we decided that we're going to spend money on Christmas, regardless."
Her shopping buddy, Joyce Phillips, wasn't quite as eager to buy, but said she, too, plans to spend about as much as she did last Christmas.
Jack Reed Jr., president of Reed's department stores, expects more shoppers like Crawford and Phillips this year. Falling gas prices have a big impact on buying patterns, he said.
"For us, the gas prices have been more important to our sales than what's been going on on Wall Street," Reed said. "The lower prices work their way faster to consumers than the information about their 401(k)s and financial portfolios."
While the stock markets have lost more than $1 trillion in value in the past few months, gas prices also have fallen from more than $4 a gallon to less than $2.
And for many consumers, that's money in the pocket.
"I'm not having to spend $70 to fill my truck, and when I can spend less than half that, it means I can buy something else instead," said Phillips, who was heading to The Mall at Barnes Crossing.
There, the holiday decorations are up and Santa made his appearance last week. Mall General Manager Jeff Snyder also anticipates a good shopping season. Keeping track of tenants' sales and polling them, too, Snyder said most are optimistic.
"We haven't seen a big effect from the national economy," Snyder said. "We've been pretty stable. But then, we've always said that this region's economic conditions usually are better."
The mall is in the midst of a $13 million renovation and expansion project, having added Dick's Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble Booksellers and Coldwater Creek in the past year. A new $215,000 children's play area, called the Tupelo Auto Sales Central Park, complements the family shopping environment, Snyder insisted. That helps draw shoppers not just to the mall, but Tupelo in general.
"There's only a certain amount of consumer dollars available and we want to keep as much as we can in the area," Snyder said.
And Troxler and Reed are confident consumers will be willing to spend some money over the holidays, despite the grim news they're bombarded with daily.
"Make no mistake, it's been a difficult retail environment," Troxler said. "Customers are always looking for a bargain, even in a good economy. But we feel like if people want something, they'll still buy. People who have money will spend. We're not wringing our hands here."
Reed said being optimistic is part of the DNA of being a retailer and hasn't changed his outlook for the holidays.
"We're not cutting back on holiday part-time staffing and I feel like Santa Claus is going to come," he said. "We've got a store full of merchandise and we haven't sliced inventory. Santa Claus will come like he does every year."
Contact Dennis Seid at (662) 678-1578 or dennis.seid@djournal.com.
To see more of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.djournal.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Miss.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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