Holiday season retail sales vary around campus

There is no better indication of the coming of the winter season than the tinkling of holiday songs or the glittering ornaments and illuminated angels that decorate many Walnut Street shops.

However, business in many retail establishments around campus has lagged so far this winter.

"It was a slow start definitely," said Parfumerie Douglas Cosmetics store manager Tatiana Naldener, "but we are starting [to pick up] and doing quite well, I think. I think it will be a good season for us."

Eastern Mountain Sports store manager Joe Rosengarten said business so far this season has "been kind of level... fairly flat compared to last year."

He noted that the outdoor apparel store sees its biggest increase when students return to campus in January.

"I would imagine all the kids come home and get money from parents," he said.

Atiya Sampson-Davis, store manager of Messages -- a card and gift shop on Walnut Street -- also said business has been "about the same."

Still, University officials claim they are not worried because it is still early in the winter period.

"We are right at the start of the season," Business Services Division spokeswoman Rhea Lewis said. "We are expecting pretty great things."

Not all businesses, however, have been struggling.

RadioShack employees report an uptick in business.

"It's been great," said RadioShack senior associate Maurice Pierce, adding that patrons have been purchasing games, gadgets, toys and cell phones as gifts.

University representatives agree that the campus retail environment this winter looks healthy.

"Everything looks very good," said Sharlene Sones, director of marketing for Business Services. We have seen "a lot of activity, which is a good sign."

While the storm that blanketed Philadelphia with four inches of snow last week caused decreased patronage at some establishments, it boosted business for others.

"After the snowstorm, we saw a huge increase," Rosengarten said. "The colder it is, we get more business. When it storms, we get huge business."

As jackets fly off the shelves at EMS, weather-proof shoes and boots are scooped up from Natural Shoe Store on 40th Street.

"Everything in December is good," owner Kaang Park said. "My store depends on weather. Cold weather is better and warm is worse."

While bad weather can deter people from venturing far beyond the house, it can also force them to stay local when shopping, causing retail sales in University City to go up on the whole.

"I think weather always makes people stay closer to home," said Lewis, adding that the storm may have caused students and local residents to patronize businesses in the neighborhood.

Sones praised the snowfall, saying that it caused people to get "more into the holiday spirit."

However, the exodus of students at the end of December causes business owners to scramble for customers.

"During Christmas break, we are dead," Rosengarten said.

As a result, the University is focusing on attracting clients other than Penn students, staff and faculty to the area, according to Sones.

Lewis said that since the University has added some new stores to its portfolio this year, such as Ann Taylor Loft, it is hard to evaluate campus retail sales against those from December 2002.

Nationally, retail this season has been more active. Sales rose 5.4 percent to $12.4 billion over Thanksgiving weekend from a year earlier, according to ShopperTrak, which monitors customer traffic at about 30,000 stores.

Also, Economist.com reported that both clothing and accessory purchases, as well as general merchandise store sales, were up 4.6 percent in November from that same time last year.

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