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| Morning NewsRetailers Hoping for Last-Minute Shopping Boost Despite Market DownturnsAired December 21, 2000 - 9:02 a.m. ETTHIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: From Wall Street to Main Street, anxiety is in the air. The Dow yesterday tumbled big time: 265 points. And the Nasdaq is at its lowest level since March of last year. Some of the biggest technology stocks -- to give you an idea here -- how hard they're been hit hard. Let's look at Yahoo!: down 90 percent from its 52-week high of $250 dollars a share. Amazon is down 87 percent. Dell and Cisco also down dramatically. That is on Wall street; on Main Street, where shoppers make up a critical part of the economic engine, people are cautious and retailers are nervous. As CNN's Greg Lefevre reports, merchants are still trying to generate that last-minute boost in holiday shopping. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GREG LEFEVRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): America's shopping malls -- 8,000 of them -- say business so far this holiday season is down eight percent from last year. Retailers are pulling out the discount stops. Example: Trousers at JC Penny were tagged at $42; I bought for $15. Penny's wouldn't discuss its pricing, but insiders say so deep a discount wipes away most, if not all, the profit. ANDREA BRENTHAM, APPAREL MANUFACTURER: Many retailers will buy merchandise specifically at an off price to give a value or to offer a discount to the customer for the Christmas holiday to generate volume. SUE WOODS, APPAREL MANUFACTURER: And then as the Christmas season evolves, there's a lot of things that can happen a that make a retailer maybe panic, because it is a very short selling window. LEFEVRE: One sign of nervous retailers: They're buying 21 percent more newspaper ads than last year. Mall jewelry sales are off 22 percent. This year's half-off sales start before Christmas. Good timing for these newlyweds. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty percent off, which puts it just within my range. LEFEVRE: Not all is gloom: Some specialty chains are doing nicely. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have definitely been within the goal that we targeted for this year, and we can't keep the shelves filled fast enough. LEFEVRE: The sale signs seem to be working. JOHN KONARSKI, INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF SHOPPING CENTERS: We're not going to know until all is said and done -- is are these promotions planned, or are they unplanned? If they're unplanned, that's going to eat into retail profits. LEFEVRE: Traffic is growing and this year's shopping season is two days longer than last year. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-five percent -- that's over a third -- of all holiday purchases are being done this week, so we have a huge potential here. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guarantee you it will explode! LEFEVRE: It's a tradition in retail: There's always hope. Greg Lefevre, CNN, San Bruno, California. (END VIDEOTAPE) TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com |
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