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Politics : THE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (704)	11/29/2003 4:15:55 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2164

Holiday Sales Solid; Pace Seen Slowing 52 minutes ago Add Business - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Emily Kaiser CHICAGO (Reuters) - Americans scoured the malls for bargains on Saturday as retailers tallied up what looked to be a solid, if unspectacular, start to the holiday shopping season. Reuters Photo Related Quotes DJIA NASDAQ ^SPC 9782.46 1960.26 1058.20 +2.89 +6.95 -0.25 delayed 20 mins - disclaimer Quote Data provided by Reuters Saturday's sales appeared to have slowed from Friday's frenetic pace as many stores opened later and some shoppers stayed home to rest up after a busy day on Friday. Mall operators and retailers reported fewer people camping out for early-bird specials on Saturday morning, although many parking lots were crowded by early afternoon. If Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is any indication, the big retail weekend was living up to expectations for improvement over last year, when the holiday season generated the smallest sales gain in more than 30 years. Wal-Mart, the world's biggest company by revenues, posted a record $1.52 billion in Friday sales at its U.S. stores, up 6.3 percent from a year earlier. That works out to about $5.19 for every American. Last year, Wal-Mart's day-after-Thanksgiving sales jumped 14.4 percent from 2001. ShopperTrak, which measures retail sales, said stores took in $7.2 billion in sales on the day after Thanksgiving, up 4.8 percent from a year earlier. SHORTER LINES Most of the country had shopping-friendly dry weather on Saturday, but a band of snow and ice hit the Northeast, and showers soaked parts of northern California and the Northwest. "It's a little quieter than yesterday at the same time," said Mike McAvinue, general manager of The Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey. "We had a great Friday." McAvinue said the parking lots were about 80 percent full as of 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, and high-end boutiques such as Tiffany & Co. reported strong demand. In Dublin, Ohio, The Mall at Tuttle Crossing reported better sales than a year ago, but Saturday's crowds were smaller than Friday's. "There were certainly no lines to get in," said marketing director Chad Doritan. "Things are okay this morning but yesterday was absolutely a zoo. Most of our stores said they felt that traffic and sales were up from last year." Analysts expect this holiday season to show a 5 percent to 7 percent increase from last year's disappointing level, but major retailers have tried to dampen expectations, noting that consumers are still restraining their spending. Retailers across the country reported bigger crowds than last year on the day after Thanksgiving -- known as Black Friday because it once marked the day when retailers got out of the red and turned a profit. The traditional start to the holiday shopping season generates as much as 40 percent of annual revenues and nearly all the year's profits for key gift destinations such as toy stores and apparel chains. Black Friday was once the biggest shopping day of the year, but in recent years that title has gone to the Saturday before Christmas. This year is likely to be no exception. BIG BARGAINS Despite signs of a reviving U.S. economy, discounts were the big attraction at most stores. At a Gap Inc. store in midtown Manhattan, Ruth Atkins and Maria Degnats said they were pleasantly surprised by the low prices on items at Gap and Toys R Us stores. "We're spending less than what we thought even with the taxes," Degnats said. Others, like Jan Martin of Delaware, were content to window-shop for the time being. "I'm trying to spend less (than last year)," Martin, 53, said, but added that from what she had seen, the prices were "pretty good." Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber said Friday's big sellers were small appliances for $4.86, including a hand mixer, burger grill or even a fondue set. A $98 trampoline, $8.77 down throw and $24.88 bicycle also sold well, she said. The big holiday test is still to come as retailers try to sustain the Thanksgiving weekend pace through Christmas. Last year, sales tapered off after a strong start. (With additional reporting by Nichola Groom in New York)