Although the National Retail Federation expects a 1% decline in holiday sales this year, local retailers are hoping against hope that shoppers load up Santa’s sleigh with a bounty of goods to buoy seasonal revenues of the kind that in 2008 made up 18.5% of total retail sales. “We’re expecting a good holiday season and a better one than last year, which was pretty dismal for most retailers,” says Todd Denton, general manager of the Mall of Louisiana. “Consumer confidence has obviously improved — ’08 was significantly down compared with ’07 across the country due to the financial crisis that was kind of at its peak.” Denton says the mall is planning for large crowds to show up early Friday, when stores open at 6 a.m. Two new retailers there are Apricot Lane Boutique and Voodoo BBQ, while Denton says a Wet Seal clothing store and another eatery are set to open by December.
“We’re looking forward to a good Christmas season,” says Stephen Keller, president of Creekstone Companies, which owns Towne Center at Cedar Lodge. “We think the retailers will be very aggressive with their promotions.” Although he says Towne Center felt the effects of the national downturn last year, Baton Rouge “has not been hit as hard as other parts of the country.” He points to a couple new tenants set to take occupancy in the first quarter of 2010, a clothing store and a food seller, as evidence of vitality that will continue after the holidays. “I think our sales will be excellent this year for all the reasons,” he says.
Monique Hester, marketing director for The Mall at Cortana, hesitated to share hard numbers that the shopping center expects for its 2009 holiday sales. “We even hate to do forecasting,” she says. “It’s just been a very tough economy these days.” Customers are keen on two-for-one values and tend to buy gift cards at Cortana, Hester says. When recipients cash those in, she says they typically spend more than the face value of the cards. Last year, the NRF said people on average put $40.54 on each gift card they bought for the holidays, which the group counts as all November and December sales.
At Tanger Outlet Center in Gonzales, General Manager John A. Taylor says sales are up for the year and that he expects a comparable holiday finish. Shops there open at the stroke of midnight Friday morning, and Taylor expects particular interest in brand-name shops BCBG Max Azria, Kenneth Cole and Guess Factory Store. “The Nike store has a lot of LSU stuff, which is always popular,” he says, adding that the Reebok store’s Saints gear is another big item. Products that the NRF predicts will be hot sellers this holiday season include e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle, “fluffy robes” for men and “little girl fantasy princess dresses” for children, and toys such as Zhu Zhu Pets, which are electronic hamsters that BusinessWeek speculates could create the next Cabbage Patch Kids- or Tickle Me Elmo-style craze.
