THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 11, 1996 TAG: 9601110458
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Retailers along the East Coast, already coping with sluggish holiday sales and edgy federal employees, lost even more dollars after the Blizzard of '96 forced them to close up shop.
But those in South Hampton Roads can count their blessings. Most area malls only cut back their hours on Sunday and Monday. Others in the storm's way were buried under heaps of snow and had to shut down their entire operations for days.
Sears Roebuck & Co., which closed many of its department stores along the storm's path, said sales were hurt. Sears sent employees home early at several of its local stores.
The sales might be difficult to make up, but the loss shouldn't devastate retailers, one retail analyst said.
``It certainly will have an impact,'' said Edwin Underwood, an analyst with Scott & Stringfellow Investment Corp. in Richmond. ``But I suspect they'll be OK.''
Most retailers were probably better off closing or cutting back hours, Underwood said. With customers unwilling to brave the storm, merchants who remained open might have lost even more money, he said.
``I think the general consensus among our merchants was that it would be best to close,'' said James M. Hill, manager of Virginia Beach's Pembroke Mall, which closed at 2 p.m. Monday. ``I think the overriding consideration was the safety of the employees who were coming to and from work.''
The retail closings come at a time when merchants are holding January clearance sales to get rid of the sweaters, mittens and ties that didn't sell during the holiday season.
But Underwood said he thinks most retailers were more cautious last year as they stocked their stores with gifts.
``I think retailers went into the Christmas season with fairly lean inventories, so they'll probably be all right,'' he said.
The snow wasn't bad news for everyone, however. At HQ Home Quarters Warehouse in Chesapeake's Greenbrier community, residents rushed in before the storm to buy sand, salt and shovels.
``We had a few people who panicked buying generators,'' said Curtis Davis, operations manager of the HQ store.
The early run helped the store make up for the slow period, when people kept off the snow-covered roads.
Even the slow periods weren't so slow. Customers took advantage of the store's hours, running in to buy items even though roads were covered with a coat of ice and snow.
``Later into the evening, when it was real bad, they got into their trucks and were out getting items like batteries,'' Davis said. ``You still have those diehards.'' MEMO: Bloomberg Business News contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Color drawing
by CNB