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Tuesday, Dec. 15, 1998

Holiday sales appear to be picking up

Also: Office Depot will open its second city location, near Six Points

Jeffrey Tomich
Associated Press

   It appears holiday sales are warming up as temperatures fall. Nationally, mall sales the first two weeks of the holiday season were off 0.5 percent from 1997, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, an industry trade group. Apparel sales were particularly weak, down 3.4 percent.
   The national sales figures don't include results from either of Corpus Christi malls, but managers of the two centers say sales activity here was slower than expected to start the season.
   That's begun to change with the weather.
   "Things have picked up dramatically over the last week, coming to a crescendo this weekend," said Keith Schiff, general manager of Sunrise Mall. "I think the weather has had a direct impact on the sales of apparel."
   Padre Staples Mall General Manager Jim Baxter said that because of warm weather sales until this last week have been probably a little bit behind last year. "But we believe they are coming on strong and merchants are reporting they are making up lost ground and hope to end up on a positive note," he said.
   

New Office Depot

   Office Depot will open its new Corpus Christi superstore near Six Points on Dec. 24, the Florida-based office supply chain announced.
   The new 27,000-square-foot Corpus Christi location is at 1737 S. Staples St. at Brownlee Boulevard.
   The store is one of 57 stores Office Depot will open this month. It will be the company's 74th in Texas and second in Corpus Christi.
   The other Office Depot location at Moore Plaza will remain open, said Dave Minner, the manager of that store.
   

Super profits

   Supermarket industry profits stayed just above the traditional penny on the dollar for the fourth consecutive year, rising to 1.22 percent from 1.18 percent the previous year, according to the Food Marketing Institute.
   The supermarket trade association attributes the industry's strong performance in recent years to advances in technology, cost reductions and improvements in operating efficiency.
   Fueling the increase was a strong increase in net profits among companies with sales of less than $100 million. Profits from this group rose to 1.34 percent, up 0.53 percent from the previous year.
   Profits for companies with sales above $100 million - a category which includes Albertson's and H-E-B - rose an average of 1.18 percent.
   Net earnings for Albertson's, which operates 969 stores in 25 states, grew 3.2 percent to $376.8 million during the first three quarters of 1998. Albertson's won't report financial results for the year until after January.
   San Antonio-based H-E-B, which operates 245 stores in Texas, Louisiana and Mexico, is privately held and doesn't report net earnings. The supermarket chain had sales of $6 billion during its past fiscal year.
   

Confident consumers

   Despite turmoil in world financial markets, North American consumers indicated they will continue buying big-ticket items in 1999, according to a poll by a national opinion research firm.
   Arlington-based Decision Analyst Inc. surveyed 2,934 consumers in the United States and Canada via the Internet and found 38.3 percent plan to buy a personal computer or computer equipment; 32.4 percent plan to buy furniture; 23.1 percent plan to buy a car or truck; and 12 percent plan to buy a home.
   "Low interest rates seem to be fueling consumer interest in big-ticket types of purchases," said Jerry Thomas, Decision Analyst's president and chief executive.
   On Retailing is published each Tuesday in the Staff Writer business section and includes information on new, relocated, expanded businesses and retailing trends. Items for consideration should be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Staff Writer, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, 78469; e-mail Jeffrey Tomich at tomichj@scripps.com; fax items to (512) 886-3732; or call (512) 886-4316.

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  © 1998 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.