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'Tis the Season to be Thwarted: 2002 Holiday Overview
for Retailers
By
Tina Dhamija
February 1, 2003
The
holiday season is past, so how do retailers feel about its outcome?
The answer depends on whom you ask. The collective voice of retail
sounds a lot like the manufacturers’ when it comes to totaling
up the profits, but where some may not have fared as well as expected,
others managed to break even with a little extra change to spare.
“Business
this past Christmas was pretty much a rollercoaster ride,”
said Linda Barera, manager of the Beverly Blvd. K B Toy
store in Los Angeles. “There were good days where we made
out extremely high, over [our] plans and goals, and then there were
the days when it seemed like it was hardly the holiday shopping
season at all.”
Expectations
in inventory varied from business to business, but those who decided
that the best strategy was to expect the unexpected managed to fare
the best. The owner and manager of The Doll House,
a small business selling dolls, wooden toys and other specialty
items and collectables in Scottsdale, Arizona is pleased with what
the 2002 holiday season brought them.
“We’ve
been around since 1977 and we’ve seen our fair share of recessions,”
said Sari Powazek, owner and manager of the Doll House. “We
ordered, we stocked, but we did not buy as much as we would have,
and I think that is why we’ve done okay this year—when
90% or the world didn’t do as well.”
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