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37 °F 5 Day Forecast Monday, December 8, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend November 25, 2003 John Hanson, maintenance employee at Black Bird Shopping Center, dresses the longtime Medford icon in its Santa suit for the season. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven RETAIL MADNESS Merchants brace for Friday’s shopper deluge By GREG STILES Mail Tribune Long before shopping mavens queue up for their pre-dawn blitz on big and not-so-big box stores, retailers are mapping out strategy to accommodate the morning-after-Thanksgiving hordes. "There’s a certain amount of dollars people are going spend that day," says Bob Seus, president of Hubbard’s Ace Hardware. "For many of the stores, the idea is that if they get you first, hopefully they’ll get the lion’s share of the budget. "No. 2, if you get them in, maybe you can keep them longer. While they’re looking for items in the ads, they’ll find other things they want." While hundreds of people wrap around Wal-Mart or jam up against Fred Meyer waiting for the doors to open well before the sun rises, bleary-eyed staff and management uncrate, position and reposition merchandise, drag out auxiliary cash registers and get their game-face ready for the coming invasion. "It’s just overwhelming to see the lines outside the door and wondering why all those people are here at 6 in the morning. But it’s exciting to see them out shopping," says Kathy Imus, assistant manager at the Big Lots store in Bear Creek Shopping Center. Advertisement The general merchandise chain normally sees about 2,000 customers a day, but that number will swell to between 5,000 and 6,000 on Friday. "The line will reach clear around the donut shop, but people are in a good mood," Imus says. Door-buster, loss-leader enticements come in the form of outright giveaways to below-dealer-cost prices. Supplies are generally limited by volume or time constraint. Black Bird Shopping Center has opened its doors at 6:30 a.m. the Friday after Thanksgiving for at least 26 years, drawing customers with discount prices on hot items for its "four-hour sale" that by owner Bill Quitt’s estimation extends "a little further" than that. Last year, a few hundred people were lined up down West Main Street as far as the Dairy Queen. Preparation for the shopping season began last week when Black Bird employees hauled cash registers used for parking lot sales out of storage. Most noticeable, however, was Monday’s makeover of the Black Bird into his Santa persona. North Medford Fred Meyer employees began pulling all-nighters Sunday in preparation for the company’s 5 a.m. Friday opening. Freddy’s six-hour sale, better known as the "Sock Sale," is among the region’s best-known retail events. Despite the late-night groundwork, store director Sharon Hamilton says there is no way to prepare the uninitiated sales associate for the swirl of buying power that will sweep down the aisles. "It’s hard to prepare anyone for that," says Hamilton, a 19-year Fred Meyer veteran who took over the North Medford reins in August. "For those individuals who have never been involved either shopping or as part of the work crews, it’s very eye-opening. I don’t think there is a way to describe or prepare for it until you’re in the midst of it." Larson’s Superstores, located on South Fir Street, is off the beaten path of early-bird shoppers flocking to malls and shopping centers. Del Hild, Larson’s general manager, says there has been a transition in holiday appliance and electronics sales at the longtime Medford retailer. "It’s a huge day for us, but probably a little bigger for the malls," Hild says. "The Thanksgiving selling season used to be the biggest weekend for all small retailers. But today it’s not as powerful as it used to be. We have bigger weekend sales after Christmas and our private sales do better. But it’s still in the top five days of the year and we’ll be fully staffed." Many stores operate on thinner margins the day after Thanksgiving, hoping volume will pad the bottom line. Seus argues for a balancing act between giving away the farm and perhaps developing a repeat customer. Ace Hardware, for example, lines up products that are sold for the same amount as an accompanying rebate. "You want them to buy something else," he says. "You just don’t want them to buy something you’re giving away for nothing, otherwise you might as well go into the Salvation Army business." Seus figures he’ll have double the normal staff on the floor of his three stores. Among them will be two of his kids home from college and three that are in high school. But not every shop in town will be touting its Friday sales. "It’s just dead here, because people are going to the mall and the Fred Meyer Sock Sale, so we’re going to be closed Friday," says Sonja Tremontana, who operates Sonja’s Needlework on Middleford Alley. "We’re going to give ourselves a holiday and then come back in full swing on Saturday." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] . Households are expected to spend less than last year With the next month determining whether many businesses will turn an annual profit, shoppers will have the final say. The Conference Board, a non-profit marketplace research group, reported Monday that U.S. households are expected to spend an average $455 on gifts during the holidays, down from last year’s $483. That could trigger a 5 percent dip in retail sales compared with 2002. The survey was based on a sample of 5,000 households before Nov. 17. "Consumer caution heading into Thanksgiving may very well spill over into the holiday shopping season," says Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center. "It now seems clear that most consumers will be shopping for bargains this season. Firms offering the best deals are likely to chalk up the biggest sales gains." However, the International Council of Shopping Centers is predicting that performance will be in line with back-to-school sales. Jill Ditty, the Rogue Valley Mall’s marketing manager, says that’s a good thing for the mall, where year-over-year sales were up 4.7 percent in August and 5.4 percent in September. She cites the ICSC’s findings that there is still money left over from the summertime tax cuts and that new homes need furnishings. "Although the women’s market is still the principal driver of apparel specialty and department store sales, men have been coming back," the report states. "The luxury market is also experiencing a revival." Still, the ICSC cautions retailers about setting hopes too high based on back-to-school figures because of soaring energy prices and a slow return of jobs. The Conference Board says about 32 percent of all households will spend $500 or more on holiday gifts, with 38 percent spending $200 to $500 and the remaining 30 percent planning to spend less than $200. 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