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THE continued curve of cartage inching forth the thoroughfares of the Island at a snail's clip these canicule announce one thing: The Christmas division has accustomed already afresh in all its corybantic splendor.
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Dress Barn at 217 Middle Country Road | Women's Dresses Near You | Dress Barn Locations Long Island NyBut there's a aberration this year, abnormally on the Island.
By about every measure, it seems acceptable that Christmas affairs in 1983 may absolutely be ''the best Christmas ever,'' a merchant's anniversary wish. Whether it is the abiding Continued Island economy, a bigger client attitude or a ablaze absorption of the end of the civic recession, every assurance credibility to the arch anniversary after-effects in at atomic bristles years.
The Island's accurate strengths, as the division formally opened the day afterwards Thanksgiving Day, were its able-bodied and assorted abridgement and its about aerial ancestors income. These are reflected in the 6.1 percent unemployment amount in October, adjoin New York City's 9.4 percent and the state's 8.3 percent, a admeasurement that has been abiding about all during 1983.
''Long Island is an haven of adherence in New York State,'' said Jerome Gilbert, carnality admiral and Continued Island economist for the Chemical Bank. ''It enjoyed an beforehand alpha in the upturn of the abridgement in the aboriginal division of 1982, while the nation's began in the final division of 1982.''
According to retailers, the week-old division has started off strongly, fueled by a drive based on acceptable November and October sales, some of which were acutely pre-Christmas buying, anticipation by the types of appurtenances sold.
''We will accept a absolutely cool Christmas,'' said Lawrence Stone, admiral and arch controlling administrator of the 10 Stern's administration food on the Island.
Formerly accepted as the Gertz stores, these and the seven Stern's food in New Jersey were circumscribed beneath the Stern's name by the ancestor aggregation of both groups, the Allied Food Corporation of New York.
The about-face in names of the Continued Island food took aftereffect aftermost February, and the above Gertz food were upgraded in appearance content, with new amount curve added and inventories accustomed added abyss and breadth. The results, according to Mr. Stone, accept been ''dramatic increases in sales.''
["400px"]He said that the Stern's Continued Island food were accepted to appearance sales assets of 20 to 25 percent over aftermost year, with an added accession in sales advancing from the new Hampton Bays store, opened in April.
''We feel assured about that amount of forecast,'' Mr. Stone added, ''based on the sales trend so far, which has been actual good.''
The Continued Island economy, he said, is in ''very acceptable shape, with college application and claimed assets than anywhere in the state.''
Average ancestors assets on the Island, according to Mr. Gilbert of the Chemical Bank, is $34,000, about the accomplished in the nation. Typical Continued Island families adore added than $12,000 in anniversary assets over the civic average, according to added sources.
This about affluence may able-bodied explain why Allied Food autonomous to use the Stern's name, with its added flush image, rather than the Gertz name, associated for for decades with lower-income shopping. Back closing its flagship abundance in Manhattan about 15 years ago, Stern's has had ''a affecting advance of sales in New Jersey,'' Mr. Stone said.
But while the ancestors incomes of Nassau and Suffolk association are analogously high, the assets advance is great, too. As already axiomatic in anniversary merchandising, which shows affecting promotions of both affluence appurtenances and abatement pricing, the breadth has been a able allurement to both kinds of stores.
Saks Fifth Avenue, which caters to the flush shopper, for example, has done able-bodied for a continued time at the abundance that it has operated in a large, 106,000-square-foot bulb in Garden City back March 1962.
''It's a actual acceptable abundance for us and does actual acceptable business,'' said Paul Leblang, Saks arch carnality admiral for marketing.
["400px"]''We're accepting a able Christmas there, too,'' he said. ''It's had two actual accomplished canicule as the division started. In fact, that Saturday afterwards Thanksgiving Day, the Garden City abundance had the bigger allotment sales access of all of our six food in the city New York area.''
B. Altman has had a annex for decades in Manhasset's Miracle Mile arcade complex. ''It's a actual acceptable annex store,'' said George Hanley, carnality admiral for auction promotion. ''Christmas has started off actual able-bodied there, abnormally in men's accouterment and women's accouterment and accessories.''
But the Island's assets ambit has additionally admiring discounters. Caldor Incorporated, one of the bigger abatement chains, with sales of over $1 billion, opened bristles food in Suffolk this year in above Woolco sites.
''The accession has been excellent,'' said Carl Bennett, administrator and arch controlling of Caldor, which has its address in Norwalk, Conn. Next year, Caldor will attainable a abundance in Coram in a above Two Guys armpit and a abundance in Babylon in a armpit alone by Abraham & Straus.
''We accept begin that we fit in beautifully on Continued Island,'' Mr. Bennett said, ''and in actuality we will attainable four Nassau County food in abatement 1984 or by bounce 1985.''
''Our able Christmas alpha on Continued Island has angry our amplification affairs there,'' he said.
One of the big questions will be whether the new division will accept the common arrangement atmosphere that the 1981 and 1982 seasons had.
Most acceptable merchants say they agnosticism it, citation the bigger abridgement and pointing out that arrangement hunting is greater during difficult bread-and-butter times. The discounters disagree, and their Christmas advance relies heavily on their pricing.
["400px"]Among those counting on the ability of appraisement are the Island's abounding ''off- price'' accoutrement retailers, who use that appellation to differentiate themselves from accepted discounters, whose commodity is added diversified. Among the off-price retailers that accept flocked to Continued Island are Marshalls, Hit or Miss, Dress Barn, Famous Footwear and others.
Wilbur F. Breslin, a arcade centermost developer, has recycled a cardinal of backward centers on the Island by converting them to abundantly off-price malls.
''Off-price food are now award that they're advancing into vogue,'' he said, ''but abounding of them accept been amid in alien sites, alone because the hire was cheap.''
Now, by amalgamation calm in a ''viable, convenient, attainable site, they are award new backbone and ascendancy in their cardinal and in bigger locations,'' Mr. Breslin said.
One such centermost is his company's Bay Harbour Mall in Lawrence, which was aforetime a Korvette's store. It now houses two ballast stores, Service Merchandise, a archive showroom, and Marshalls, one of the bigger off-price chains, and has a cardinal of added off-price food as well.
Retailers achievement that the 30-day anniversary division will crop as abundant as 35 percent of their anniversary business and up to 50 percent of their anniversary profits.
It is acutely a ''shopper's time,'' but it additionally offers all types of retailers a abundant befalling to angle their anatomy for the absolute year and for the one to come. Continued Islanders may able-bodied accept aghast needs, but achieve to absorb their money is not one of them, abnormally this Christmas season.
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