Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008

Tri-City retailers banking on bargain hunters

By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

Cindy Twedt, who loves to shop for deals the day after Christmas, managed to save about 50 percent on bedding she bought from a store in the Columbia Center mall Friday.

Slower sales are forcing retailers to offer extra discounts, said Twedt, of Richland. And many shoppers like her crowded the mall despite the cold to snap up the bargains.

Chad Holmes hit the mall at 7:30 a.m. and bought a few coats for himself and earrings for his wife.

"We found a few genuine sales," said Holmes, of San Diego, who's visiting family in the Tri-Cities.

Alysia Hardy and her friend Matt Rand came from Prosser about 9 a.m. to take advantage of the sales.

"It was crowded, but it wasn't bad," said Rand, adding that he wanted to use the gift cards he got for Christmas.

Hardy bought a shirt for $5 that generally sells for $40, and Rand saved about $100 on his purchase of sweatshirts.

Clothing, particularly winter wear, blankets and perfumes have sold well thanks to special discounts, said Lee Boman, manager at JCPenney.

Sales have been better than expected because of the increase in the number of shoppers at the store since Monday, he said. People have finally gotten over the cold weather that's gripped the Mid-Columbia for weeks now, he said.

This year, sales at the JCPenney store in Kennewick have been 2 1/2 percent better than the national average for the chain, Boman said.

Deals are better this year, because retailers want to generate cash flows, said Fredric McDaniel of Kennewick. Things aren't going to become cheaper than they already are, said McDaniel, who loves to hunt for post-Christmas deals.

But a few store managers think discounts on clothing and seasonal merchandise will continue in the new year to help push sales.

And Twedt is counting on that. She said she plan to buy clothes and shoes when retailers further mark down inventory before they stock up for spring and summer.

People are buying sensibly without being extravagant, said Bailie Kollmar, manager of human resources at Kennewick Target. Household items including clothes seem to be more popular than extravagant gifts at her store this season, and she expects the trend to continue.

Many shoppers are using gift cards to make the purchases, she said. "That's normal after Christmas."

On Friday, many, including Azucena Cedeno, of Kennewick, bought a load of Christmas ornaments, wrapping paper and other holiday supplies at Target.

"You can't beat a 50 percent discount," she said.

It'll help her take care of her Christmas tree next year, she said.

Kollmar said special promotions have helped the sale of Apple iPods, Blu-ray Disc players and digital cameras during the holiday season, she said.

Roger Hoerner, assistant manager at Best Buy, agreed. Until recently Best Buy offered a $50 gift card on the purchase of an iPod Touch. His store has been offering special packages on digital cameras to help customers save $30 to $70 dollars, he said.

A steady stream of customers kept him busy on the day after Christmas. "Everybody seems to be coming out today (despite the weather.)"

Video games such as Rockband 2 and Guitar Hero have been especially popular, he said. The number of returns has been same as previous years, he said, adding a lot of people came to exchange duplicate video games.

Mordell Sours visited Best Buy to return a digital photo frame she got as a gift from her husband, Dan. He bought two frames for her, so one needed to be returned, said Sours of Kennewick.

The couple planned to get their money back and look for a big TV, she said.

Ted and Fran Kujawski of Kennewick wanted to exchange apparel that they received as gifts for a bigger size at Eddie Bauer. They didn't think they would be lured by extra discounts to buy at the mall.

But Robin and Lisa Desjarlais of Toppenish came to buy "whatever is on sale." Their budget was about $500, said Lisa who said she and her husband planned to check out clothes and other baby items at the Burlington Coat Factory.

"Shopping is fun," Robin said.