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20 1984 (Sec 3) SANOV (O re.) POST— 5
Retailers are optimistic
With one weekend left to
shop, most Sandy area
retailers are optimistic that
th is w ill be a good
Christmas
A good Christmas for store
owners naturally translates
to plentiful sales, and that
seems to be the trend
“ I t ’s better than I thought,
it looks like about a 20 per
cent improvement over last
y e a r ,”
s a id
D uane
Youngbar, owner of Mon
tgomery Ward in Sandy.
Youngbar said sales have
been up all year, a fact Kick
Stone attributes to a better
economy.
Stone, manager of Gordon
Stone’s in Sandy and presi
dent of the Sandy Area Mer
chants, said he has not look
ed at the figures yet, "b u t it
looks like we w ill end up with
a good year.”
" I never like to make a
Christmas prognosis before
the figures are in,” he said.
Stone said people are more
w illing to buy this year than
last.
“ Last year, noone knew if
they would have a job after
the firs t of the year,” said
Stone.
“ I think everyone feels
they have better job security
this year,” he said.
Customers are s till being
c o n s e rv a tiv e in som e
respects, according to Stone
“ They are buying more
staple merchandise instead
of non necessities, more of
the basics,” he said
Ward's customers are not
quite so conservative this
year, said Youngbar.
“ People a re spending
more, buying the big item s,”
he said.
Youngbar said popular
items include microwaves
and
v id e o -c a s s e tte
recorders.
"We are also selling more
of the athletic equipment
like weight sets and gym
sets,” said Youngbar
As last year, the Cabbage
Patch dolls have been a big
s e lle r .
O rd e rs
fro m
September and October are
i • now being filled, and
S'- .e w ill not be filled before
Christmas.
“ People are becoming ex
ceedingly hostile about Cab
bage
P a tc h ,”
sa id
Youngbar
He said that even though
the demand fa r exceeds the
supp’y, there are good points
about selling the dolls
" I t is one item you don’t
have to worry that people
w o n ’ t p ic k u p ,” sa id
Youngbar
Youngbar does not hire ex
tra help for the Christmas
season, although his part
time staff puts in longer
hours
“ It has been pretty steady,
but there have been some
re a lly busy days,” said
Youngbar
While most retailers ex
perience slowdowns follow
ing Christmas, Youngbar
says an appliance sale at
Ward’s keeps the store busy
through January.
Pete Carlson, owner of
Carlson Chevrolet, says he
e x p e c ts a c t iv it y a ft e r
Christmas for other reasons
"There w ill only be a few
days left in the year for
anyone with a business use
for a new car to get the in
vestment tax cre d it," said
Carlson.
Carlson said people have
bought autos specifically for
Christmas presents in the
past, but he doesn't think it is
a common occurrence.
" I don't know of anyone
b u y in g ju s t fo r th a t
purpose," he said.
“ Christmas kind of over
shadows the need for a new
vehicle,” said Carlson.
Carlson said it was more
likely that someone would
buy himself a car for Xmas.
"T h e tax savings fo r
businesses that buy now is a
p r e t ty
good
p re s e n t,
though,” he said.
Shoppers have formed a steady stream among holiday decorations to make this season
successful for Sandy retailers.
& SCALES
STO R E
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