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Rolling Along … Back On Track America Can Still Help Get Your Business Back On Track

Back On Track America Can Still Help Get Your Business Back On Track

Holiday Retail Sales Were Not So Bad After All

by Lee Zion

Staff Writer





The news isn’t as bad as retailers at first thought. Consumers nationwide spent 31 percent more during the holiday season than they had originally planned to spend immediately after the Sept. 11 crisis.

The typical household spent $1,130 for holiday gifts, according to a survey from the International Mass Retail Association, an Arlington Va.-based retail industry group

That’s up from $863, the amount participants anticipated they’d spend when they were polled in October, said Robert J. Verdisco, the president of IRMA.

U.S. shoppers continued to favor discount stores over department stores and other retail outlets during the 2001 holiday season. Roughly 35 percent of shoppers said they had their best holiday shopping experience at a discount department store, compared with 20 percent who named traditional department stores, he said.

Many consumers did their shopping at the last minute, often taking advantage of discounts provided by mass retailers. About 35 percent said they completed their shopping the week before Christmas, while an additional 22 percent said they’d finished the day before, Verdisco said.

Helping sales was the fact that many workers had the day off on Christmas Eve, which fell on a Monday. That gave consumers a three-day weekend to finish up their last minute Christmas shopping, he said.

In addition, two-thirds of all consumers surveyed said they were satisfied with the gifts they were given this year and do not plan to return any.

“Spending more, returning less, and shopping at discount department stores is very good news for the mass retail sector,” Verdisco said.

For more information, visit IRMA’s Web site at (www.imra.org).

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More on ‘Back on Track’: Small business owners who missed “Back on Track America” Jan. 18 in Downtown San Diego can still gain valuable insight from business experts on how to improve the bottom line.

The 20-city whistle-stop tour has allowed small business owners to speak with public officials, civic groups, retired executives and others in a series of public events. Participants were able to join roundtable discussions and one-on-one sessions, all free of charge, said Jane Applegate, a spokeswoman for Back on Track.

But for those who were unable to attend, they can still get guidance from professionals by going to a Web site for small business owners, (www.netbusiness.com).

Advice offered includes marketing, sales and finance. All services on the Web site are free, Applegate said.

The original event, sponsored by the Washington, D.C.-based business advocacy group National Federation of Independent Business and others, was sparked by the economic downturn last year. As the chief executive officer of a communications and advocacy group for small business, sbtv.com, Applegate is in the business of advising small business owners.

That tour was canceled in the wake of Sept. 11. Applegate called this “the wrong message” to send to small businesses, which collectively provide about 60 percent of all of American jobs, she said.

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Women’s Business Breakfast: San Diego women business owners can participate in not one, but two series of breakfasts to learn about doing business better.

The Service Corps of Retired Executives will hold two series of women’s business breakfast roundtables. The programs, designed to help women network and succeed in business, will be held in two locations , one in Hotel Circle, and the other in Carlsbad, according to a fact sheet from SCORE.

The Hotel Circle meetings will be held the fourth Friday of each month, while the Carlsbad meetings will be held the third Thursday of each month. The topic of discussion will vary from month to month, the fact sheet stated.

The Hotel Circle group will meet in February, take a break in March, then return from April to October. The North County group will also meet in February, take a break in March, and return from April through November, according to the fact sheet.

For the month of March, a special program will be held. The fourth annual SCORE/SBA Women’s Conference, “Doing Business Her Way,” will meet March 28 in Cardiff. The daylong conference will help women enhance their business and leadership skills, the fact sheet stated.

Contact Zion at (858) 277-6359, Ext. 112, or by e-mail at

lzion@sdbj.com.

The deadline for the Feb. 11 issue is Feb. 1.

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