After Christmas, shops try to lure scrooges

The biggest loser is women’s apparel, which has been one of the weakest performers and will see its profits hit hard, analysts said. But there are signs that the luxury business could be softening too. At Houston’s upscale Galleria mall, the luxury menswear store Bernini was empty despite large 70 percent off signs.

“People are spending less and they’re being really picky,” said salesman Cleveland McMakin, who called it the worst season in his three years at Bernini.

Even $995 leather jackets marked down to $299 and $595 blazers being sold for $179, did not spark optimism.

“We’ve never marked stuff down this low before,” McMakin said. “We’re just trying to sell it.”

Retailer woes can be good news for shoppers, who are being bombarded with more generous discounts in the after-Christmas period than a year ago, industry officials said. Susan Valentine, senior vice president of marketing at mall operator Macerich Co. said discounts on holiday decor are reaching 75 percent; last year at this time, decor was reduced up to 60 percent. Meanwhile, apparel is being slashed to up to 70 percent; last year, the price cuts were around 50 percent.

At a Kohl’s Corp. store in Lisbon, Conn., Maggie Challinor planned to buy a coat with a Christmas gift card she received from her husband. Gift cards helped the family keep to their Christmas budget, she said. “We spent less. We really watched for sales.”

Barbara Gagne, at the same Kohl’s, returned two pairs of pants for credit and bought a $55 blouse marked down to $11.

“I’m here for the bargains,” she said.

The post-Christmas season has become more important with the increasing popularity of gift cards. According to the National Retail Federation, consumers were expected to spend a total of $26.3 billion in gift cards this holiday season, up 42 percent from $18.5 billion in 2005.

ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said that the week after Christmas accounts for about 16 percent of total holiday sales.

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