Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 24, 1993 TAG: 9312240107
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FREEPORT, MAINE LENGTH: Medium
Rick Johnson, with three pairs of boots tucked under his arm, acknowledged he might be back Christmas Eve, or early Christmas Day, making Santa's final purchases. It wouldn't be the first time, he smiled.
"It's last-minute, no doubt about it," Johnson said. "Always the last minute."
Johnson had plenty of company. Millions of people packed stores and malls across the country Thursday, trying to get their shopping done before stores shut on Christmas Eve. Some store owners were counting on the 11th-hour customers to help make this season a good one.
Long after the crowds leave the streets of this New England village, L.L. Bean's retail store still is lit as a beacon for the shoppers who crawl out of the woodwork for last-minute shopping, and maybe a little peace from the daytime throngs.
Typically, there are a few people milling around the store during the wee hours. But the nights before Christmas bring a crowd of bleary-eyed shoppers, some who planned to shop late, others who ended up here on the verge of desperation.
"We knew for a whole month we'd have to do this," said Don Morrison, who grabbed 10 gifts, including clothes and a gun case, for his brother.
Procrastinators?
"Basically," Beth Morrison said.
Popular gifts for late-night buyers are big-ticket items such as cross-country skis and bicycles, store manager John Chaney said. The middle-of-the-nighters tend to be serious, and they know they will be able to get individualized attention.
"Snowshoes have been big sellers, even though we don't have any snow," Chaney added.
The shoppers find cheer from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. - the slowest time - because the store is less crowded and there's rarely trouble finding a parking place.
Early Thursday, it appeared that about 70 percent of the procrastinators were men.
"It's almost like men's night," quipped Johnson, who stopped for a moment to peer around at the harried shoppers. "We're all in about the same boat."
The 24-hour tradition dates back to the days when, according to legend, Leon L. Bean got tired of having hunters wake him up and decided to keep the store open at all hours. That was 1951.
The tradition has continued. The store has closed only twice, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and when Bean himself died at age 94 in 1967.
The retail store accounts for 10 percent of the revenue for the mail-order company.
This year will be the biggest year ever for the store, which posted sales of $84 million last year, said L.L. Bean spokeswoman Catharine Hartnett. The store posted record sales the days after Thanksgiving, when about 45,000 people shopped over two days.
Staying open at all hours, in all weather, every day, remains a source of pride. When a windstorm knocked out power to most Freeport shops on a Sunday afternoon in November, the L.L. Bean store kept buzzing along, powered by a generator.
by CNB