Holiday season helping businesses rebound after slow fall seasonZ

AMY WINKLER/Arizona Daily Wildcat

Phoenix resident Heather Lucas tries on a sweater with her boyfriend, Vincent Briedis, yesterday evening at Divaz, 906 E. University Blvd. Though Divaz owner Robert Castle said this holiday season is slower than usual at his store, most employees at retail businesses on University Boulevard said sales have risen since Thanksgiving.

As retail stores around UA enter the holiday shopping season, many businesses are seeing their sales increase after a period of economic decline.

"Everybody's been challenged by the (Sept. 11) events, but we've been really pleased with the sales comeback since Thanksgiving," said Dan Deaver, district manager for the Gap.

Before Thanksgiving, the nation's economy was experiencing a slowdown caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The consumer price index - which measures the retail prices of goods and services - fell 0.3 percent in October, after increasing 2.4 percent in the 11 months prior to the attacks.

One local store manager said the onset of the holiday season has caused an increase in the number of shoppers.

"Shopping traffic has seemed to increase," said Kari Beggs, a University of Arizona marketing junior and manager at the Gap, 825 E. University Blvd.

Another student who worked in an electronics store over Thanksgiving agreed that the holiday prompted a rise in sales.

"I worked in the computer department at Best Buy over Thanksgiving break, and the store was packed. It was crazy," said Adam Waslefsky, a management information systems freshman.

Retail employees also said the recent change in temperature may be another contributor to growing sales. Daytime temperatures have plunged into the 60s, and students are beginning to purchase winter clothes from local businesses.

"As retailers, we look forward to the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas as a peak sales time," Deaver said. "Business had been slow the last couple of weeks. We offer mainly clothing and accessories for cold weather right now, so the cold weather has helped us out a lot in Arizona."

Deaver said that the events of Sept. 11 have taken a toll on the financial state of the Gap, but the store is now benefiting from increased purchases.

"It's been a difficult economic environment since Sept. 11. People become concerned with their jobs and limit their purchasing. Some of our stores depend on technology and the airlines, so the layoffs with Intel and America West have affected us," he said.

However, not all businesses around UA are experiencing increased sales after the economic recession.

"We've had a little decrease in business overall since last year, I'd guess mainly due to the economy," said Robert Castle, owner of Divaz, 906 E. University Blvd. "There's been a decrease on credit card sales, so parents are probably telling kids to mellow out on their spending habits."

Castle said Divaz makes yearly merchandise adjustments to the change in student's shopping behavior around the holiday season.

"This time of year isn't good for us, because students are going home for breaks. A lot of students left for Thanksgiving, and now they're going to bear down and study. The whole Christmas season tends to be a little slower, and we even close earlier after finals week," he said. "Right now we're open from 10 (a.m.) to 8 (p.m.), but after finals, we only stay open until 5 (p.m.)."

One student said that the Thanksgiving break didn't eliminate her urge to shop.

"I did a lot of shopping after Thanksgiving," said Jocelyn Garrido, an undeclared sophomore. "It's a break, so it's a good time to shop for myself, and it's close to Christmas, so it's time to start thinking about presents, too."