Orange County malls still expect the same holiday crowds. They just expect them to spend less this year.
“Even with the economy, people still love to shop,” said Anna Cotter, director of mall marketing and business development at Brea Mall.
The mall, which is one of five in OC owned by Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc., is playing to the mood of shoppers with a marketing theme dubbed “shop smarter.”
Roaming workers in “shop smarter” T-shirts are set to give out bottled water to weary shoppers at “rejuvenation stations.”
The idea is to allow people to rest up so they can shop longer, said Lindsay Hermance, director of marketing and business development for Westminster Mall, which Simon owns.
Simon has moved furniture together and in some cases laid carpet to create the stations. Customers are offered hand and neck massages, food samples, mints and other goodies.
Shoppers can browse magazines and check out restaurant menus at some stations.
Each Simon mall has its own unique station. The company’s other malls here are The Block at Orange, Shops at Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills Mall.
The malls are offering freebies to shoppers who line up early on Black Friday, the official holiday shopping kickoff that starts the day after Thanksgiving.
The first 100 people in line will receive “survival kits” with water, granola and other treats.
Shops at Mission Viejo and Brea Mall plan to start their holiday shopping season push on Nov. 23 with a fundraiser for various charities. Brea Mall expects 3,500 to 5,000 shoppers that night.
Charities are selling $10 tickets for the event, which includes entertainment and food.
Brea Mall is working out a shopping package with the neighboring Embassy Suites Hotels. Shoppers can stay overnight at the hotel and walk to the mall the next morning, Cotter said.
The mall plans to offer discounted FedEx shipping from the guest services booth. This year will be the first time Simon has offered shipping from the mall.
The malls are trying to give shoppers everything under one roof, said Patsy Sanquist, area director of mall marketing and business development for Shops at Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills Mall.
Auto News
Hyundai of Costa Mesa is closing on Harbor Boulevard. The dealership has fallen to the worst slump in auto sales in recent memory.
It’s one of 800 U.S. Hyundai dealerships.
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co., which has its U.S. headquarters in Fountain Valley, has been faring better than U.S. automakers.
For the year to date through August,the latest local figures available,Hyundai sales in OC were down 2.3% from a year earlier. That’s pretty good given that several other auto brands were down double digits.
Nationally, Hyundai’s U.S. sales fell 30% in October.
Mercedes-Benz of Anaheim and other Mercedes dealers are selling 1,000 custom S550 Mercedes to raise money for Saks Fifth Avenue Inc.’s Key to the Cure charity.
Key to the Cure raises money for the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, a program founded by Hollywood bigwigs. Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz USA expects to donate $1 million to the charity.
Crevier BMW of Santa Ana donated a 2009 Mini Cooper to Chapman University in Orange. The car was raffled off to raise money for the university’s scholarship fund.
