Holiday sales off to promising start, group says

Lavielle noted that the turnout Friday was better than a year ago, and customer flow was steady throughout the weekend. Both Kmart and Sears sold out a significant inventory of its flat-panel TVs. Other hot items were Global Positioning System receivers, game consoles like the hard-to-find Nintendo Wii, and digital cameras.

Toys “R” Us chairman and CEO Jerry Storch said the toy seller drew a strong turnout Friday for its 101 early morning specials. He said that he was pleased with traffic on Saturday and Sunday as well.

“This was a robust start to the holiday season,” Storch said. Popular items included anything related to Disney’s hot franchises “Hannah Montana” and “High School Musical,” video games, consoles, an interactive parrot from Hasbro Inc., and radio-controlled helicopters and planes.

In a statement Saturday, J.C. Penney reported “strong performance across all merchandise categories,” including fine jewelry, outerwear, and young men’s and children’s assortments.

Wally Brewster, senior vice president of marketing and communications for General Growth Properties Inc., which operates more than 220 malls in 44 states, estimated that sales rose 2.5 percent for the weekend compared with a year ago, in line with projections. Electronic items were extremely popular, but he added that the cold weather helped spur sales of fleece outerwear and other winter items.

Karen MacDonald, spokeswoman at Taubman Centers, which operates 24 malls across 11 states, estimated that business was up anywhere from mid to high single digits Friday, while sales Saturday increased by as much as the mid-single digits.

Both Macerich Co. and Simon Property Group reported strong sales at malls across the country over the weekend.

Despite a decent showing, many shoppers interviewed said they planned to curb their spending.

Earl Lee, a mechanic from Live Oak, Fla., who was shopping in Tallahassee, said that he was planning on spending less this holiday season.

“Gas prices, everything’s so high,” he added.

John Muller, of Clifton, N.J., who was standing outside Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan on Sunday, said he plans to spend only about $500 this year, half as much as a year ago, because of higher expenses and worries about the economy.

This year, “we are mostly buying for the kids,” said Muller, who has two children, ages 3 and 7.

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