
DATE: Sunday, July 6, 1997                  TAG: 9707060084

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEPHEN KIEHL, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   81 lines

BIG MARKDOWNS LURE HOLIDAY CROWDS TO MALLSPARKING LOTS WERE PACKED, AS SHOPPERS CELEBRATE THE LONG WEEKEND BY SPENDING.

For retailers and shoppers, Saturday was The Day After.

Of course, it couldn't compare with other Days After - notably Thanksgiving and Christmas. But The Day After the Fourth of July had one thing in common with those better-known shopping days: huge sales and crowded malls.

For Barbara Messenger and Latoya White, both of Virginia Beach, the day came just in time. Both women had weddings to attend Saturday, and neither had a dress.

Messenger, 51, drove around the Hecht's parking lot at Lynnhaven Mall waiting for the store to open.

When it finally did, at 9 a.m., she was the first through the door. Close to an hour later, Messenger was still looking, but was not disappointed.

``The sales here are very good,'' the transplanted New Yorker said as she pawed through a 25 percent-off rack. ``They're better than upstate New York. But I wish I took a (size) four. Then everything would fit.''

White, 20, was hoping to find something in DEB, but she too was early.

``I thought it opened at 9:30,'' she said while peering through the store window at 9:50. ``I have a wedding today - at 1. I wish they would let me in. Yesterday everything closed at 5.''

When the stores did open, the crowds weren't far behind. By 1 p.m., parking spaces were scarce at Lynnhaven, and the mall was so packed that the fountain and piped-in music were drowned out by the noise of chattering adults and energetic children.

The throngs traipsing through the malls this holiday weekend prove one immutable law: Shopping is as American as, well, the Fourth of July.

Hampton Roads stores, opening early and closing late, were doing their part Saturday to help shoppers do their patriotic duty. And the sales were tough to ignore - 40 percent off, 50 percent off, even 80 percent off. There were ``inventory sell-offs'' and ``sales on top of sales.''

Store managers said business this weekend is up from the same time last year, and the discounts have something to do with it.

``We're having really good sales this year, and our promotions are a little better,'' said Jennifer Pitchford, assistant manager at The Limited, where it seemed that just about everything was at least 30 percent off. ``Traffic in the mall yesterday was a lot heavier than last year. These sales are comparable to Christmas.''

Pitchford gave another reason for the good business this weekend: the Fourth fell on a Friday, giving most people a three-day weekend.

And the heat, some store managers speculated, drove people indoors to seek relief.

Stores took advantage of the situation. The Children's Place had its ``Monster Sale,'' with savings of up to 50 percent. At County Seat, all items in the store, with a few exceptions, were $19.99 or less. And a huge sign in the window alerted passers-by of 70-percent-off discounts. Aeropostale had clothing up to 65 percent off.

But Chris Stottlemyer, 51, of Virginia Beach, was not impressed. She said she had just two items to pick up and was going to get out as soon as she could.

``A sale is a sale is a sale,'' she said. ``One expects to see a sale after a holiday.''

Other shoppers, however, said the sales really were better than usual.

Karen Mason, who has three young boys, said Saturday was her first chance in a while to get out of the house by herself. Looking through racks in The Children's Place, the Virginia Beach resident said she was shopping for vacation clothes for her children.

``I got lucky,'' she said. ``I didn't realize that there would be Fourth of July sales. And they're pretty good. I was surprised.''

Deedee Williams and Kiki Lucas, Washington, D.C., residents spending the weekend at the beach, were pleased with what they found. At Marshall's they said they picked up pants for $3 and shoes for $5.

``We're looking for good sales,'' said Williams, 20. ``And so far, we've been lucky.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MOTOYA NAKAMURA, The Virginian-Pilot

Karen Mason of Virginia Beach searches through a rack at The

Children's Place in Lynnhaven Mall for vacation clothes for her

three boys. Store managers credited the busy day at the mall to the

three-day weekend, hot weather, and special promotions and

discounts. Some shoppers said the sales were comparable to

Christmas. KEYWORDS: RETAIL SALES