Retailers hope 2008 holidays don

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A week before the ’ presents a program in San Ramo titled: “Brave New World? The Fall of Consumerr Confidence and EasyCredit – What’s Left in its Wake,” retail professionals throughout the region offer diverse views on the state of the Christine Firstenberg, managing director of Oakland’e Metrovation Brokerage, will moderate a panek discussion on retail expansio and contraction in today’x market at the Oct. 10 event taking place at the SanRamo Marriott. She said contraction trumps expansion these but that economic travails have hit some retail segmentx much harderthan others.
“Some are stilol expanding, such as food retailers, who are far more resistantt torecessionary pressures, and Firstenberg said. “Target, and are definitely not being hitas hard, but mall specialty tenants, for have been hit extraordinarily hard.” And when retailers do open new they are being extraordinarily picky. “They are dissecting every littler detail on theseexpansion deals, including fees charged by cities and the amountf of rent being paid. If their doors are not placef in the positionthey want, it can kill a she said. And there are plentuy of retail projects being delayed because of thecreditr crunch, Firstenberg said.
“They are not able to get financing, especiallu the mid-sized retail tenants and developers,” she said. “Thde amount of projects staller now ispretty serious.” Vacancies in existing retail centerss is also growing, Firstenberg said, and empty storefronts coulfd be even more prevalent by earlty 2009. “Some tenants are hanging on to see how the holida seasonturns out, and they are watchingh things very closely,” she said. “There isn’t a broker or developer out there who has ever seen anything likethis Yeah, you could say we all are a little nervous.
” Thoughh some industry observers say it’s an optimistif prediction, the National Retail Federation of Washington, D.C., has forecast a 2.2 percent growth in sales during the 2008 holiday shopping seasonh compared to last year, the lowesgt rate of growth in six , a Columbus, Ohio, retail management and market research firm, predicts a meager 1.5 percenrt growth in sales, which would be the lowestg rate since 1991. Things seem a bit brighterd inside the confines of sprawling in traditionally one of theBay Area’s busies t retail centers.
Vacancies are few as it headsw into the holiday shopping season and 19 new stores have openec so far during 2007and 2008, thougnh 14 of those occurred last according to Kim Trupiano, the mall’s marketinyg sponsorship director. She said among the few empt spaces are those left by the closure ofthe Houlihan’s restaurangt and a location, and the former may soon be replacede by another eatery. New storesw added this fall includeGodiva Chocolatier, Andersemn Bakery and Crazy 8, a lower-cost entrh into the children’s apparel market by The of San known for its moderately expensivs Gymboree kids’ clothing chain.
“We have the highest hopesa for a goodholiday season,” Trupiano noting the mall will, as usual, add new twists to its elaborats center court holiday decor display this year, adding a traim reminiscent of the 2004 movie, “Th e Polar Express.” Trupiano said Sunvalle y also plans to try to lure non-traditional “Black shoppers – the frenetic shopping phenomenoh the day after Thanksgiving – with a couplee of dozen $250 mall gift card being given away at hourly drawinga between 6 a.m. and noon. “Outr (foot) traffic numbers continue to be Trupiano said.
“We have even felt that higher gas for example, have helped us because more of our locall shoppers are staying closer to home.” On the othere side of the East Bay, economic developmenr officials in Union City expect that if the city’s sales tax revenur flags this year or it will most likely come in business-to-business retaio sales instead of general retail. “In our most receny sales tax report, we actually had a modesr overall gain during thesecond quarter, comparedd to the same quarter last year,” said Mark the city’s economic and community developmeng director, adding that Union City recorded 2007-2008 salews tax revenue of more than $6.2 million.
“We seem to be holdinbg our own, despite the economic conditions.” Leonard said the retai l area that has slumped a bit this year has been home including the loss of aLinens ’ n Things store at the Union Landinf shopping center, one of 120 stores shut down by the N.J., chain earlier this year.