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To: Jon Koplik who wrote (20430)	12/26/1998 10:05:00 PM
From: marginmike	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Hey Jon the end of the world is STILL not here! Home - Yahoo! - Help -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Business \| US Market \| By Industry \| IPO \| AP \| S&P \| International \| PRNews \| BizWire ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related Quotes DH KM MAY TCO 49 3/8 14 1/8 60 11/16 13 3/4 +1/2 -1/16 +3/16 +0 delayed 20 mins - disclaimer Saturday December 26, 4:42 pm Eastern Time U.S. bargain-hunters chasing away retailers' blues By Susan Nadeau CHICAGO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Post-Christmas bargain-hunters were out in droves on Saturday, with some even waiting in line before dawn, raising expectations for what has so far been a somewhat disappointing holiday shopping season. ''It's a zoo out there,'' said Karen MacDonald, spokeswoman for Taubman Centers (NYSE:TCO - news), which manages 27 shopping centers across the country. ''There's a week to go, and people are very optimistic.'' About 250 shoppers waited in line at 6:30 a.m. to enter the Lord & Taylor (NYSE:MAY - news) store at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, Michigan, which opened at 7 a.m. And some 300 people lined up for the bargains at Hudson's (NYSE:DH - news). ''The Christmas stuff went first,'' MacDonald said. ''People were looking to buy the 50-percent-off cards and wrapping paper.'' Rick Gallagher, vice president of the National Retail Federation and publisher of Stores magazine, said the day after Christmas was traditionally the busiest of the year for retailers -- even busier than the always crowded day after Thanksgiving. ''You combine people looking for bargains, people making returns or exchanges, and people with gift certificates in their fists, and you get a pretty good day,'' Gallagher said. ''It doesn't end at Christmas,'' he added. ''About 10 percent of holiday sales are done between Christmas and New Year's. That week can make the difference between a good season and a great season.'' Which is what retailers and Wall Street are hoping for. Retail sales overall have been good so far this season but not as strong as originally expected. Some industry analysts trimmed estimates for sales growth to about 3 percent to 4 percent from the 4 percent to 5 percent projected earlier in the season. MacDonald said surveys of Taubman-managed malls showed that retailers expected season sales increases over last year in the low- to mid-single digits and that sales were brisk in the week before Christmas. She said retailers were especially encouraged by the number of post-holiday shoppers making exchanges or additional purchases rather than returns. Specialty areas such as jewelry and home furnishings have so far had a spectacular season, thanks to a generally strong economy, John Konarski, senior vice president of the International Council of Shopping Centers, said. And sales today have been at least slightly stronger than usual because the day after Christmas falls on a Saturday. But no one denies that unseasonably warm weather hindered sales of winter gear. Especially hard hit were the department stores, where purchases of cold-weather apparel are key. Deep price cuts now may lead to lower margins. ''Most margin pressure is in apparel, especially winter apparel,'' Gallagher said. ''The problem with late winter is that people may just defer the purchase until next year.'' An employee at Kmart (NYSE:KM - news) in Lake Zurich, Illinois, said a crowd had gathered before the store's 7 a.m. opening despite the cold temperatures -- finally -- in the Chicago suburb. ''There are a lot of computer games and software going through (cashiers' lines),'' he said, adding that returns so far were not as heavy as in previous years. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Quotes and News: Dayton-Hudson Corp (NYSE:DH - news) K Mart Corp (NYSE:KM - news) May Department Stores Co (NYSE:MAY - news) Taubman Centers Inc (NYSE:TCO - news) Related News Categories: US Market News -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. See our Important Disclaimers and Legal Information. Questions or Comments?