Maybe the economy is getting better? December retail sales surge

I keep hearing that the economy is getting better...

I've also been wondering how Walnut Creek's retail scene did this holiday season.  Don't have any specifics on how Walnut Creek itself did, but here's a report from the Washington Post that says that retailers enjoyed a better-than-expected holiday season "as rising consumer confidence" and last-minute shopping sprees pushed sales higher in December. 


The Post cites a report from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), a trade group that found that, in looking at three dozen of the country's biggest chains, sales at established stores increased an average of 2.8 percent in December from a year ago. And sales for the last two months of the year jumped 1.8 percent, compared with a record 5.6 percent drop in 2008--marking the strongest holiday performance in three years. The ICSC had forecast only a 1 percent increase.

Several retailers with locations in Walnut Creek enjoyed a better-than-expected season. Macy's sales rose 1 percent in December, helped by strong online sales. Nordstrom Inc. is also in this list, with a key sales figure rising 7.4 percent.


Oh, and even though it hasn't come to Walnut Creek yet, Dallas-based retailer Neiman Marcus saw sales rise 4.5 percent in December, says Business Week.

I've GOT TO take vacation at the end of the month, and so does Walnut Creek City Hall staff

Is the economy really getting better? They say the recession is over, and home values have stopped plummeting, and a Bay Area Council report says we've hit rock bottom, and there is no where to go but up...

But ... Just got news that the health insurance plans offered by my company are going up anywhere from 16 to 23 percent. And that Bay Area Council report also says we're still in for a painful job market, with 23 percent of Bay Area companies saying they will reduce their staffing levels some more in the next six months. On the bright side, 18 percent of companies say they will add jobs. But wait! We've got this war in Afghanistan, and the retail reports for November and for Black Friday wasn't so great ...

Happy Thursday!

Anyway, back to the original point of this post. Walnut Creek City Hall will be closed the week between Christmas Eve and the week after Christmas, from December 24 through January 3. And most city employees will be on unpaid furlough the week of December 28 to help save the city money. But the police will still be working--and, I'm assuming, but I'll have to check, the parking enforcement guys and gals!

I have to take vacation that week as well... I get paid for that vacation, but I myself have had to take other furlough days to save my company money.

How are you doing this holiday season?

Another WC retailer in trouble

Z Gallerie, a Southern-based home furnishing retailing company, that has a major storefront on Mt. Diablo Boulevard, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

According to the San Francisco Business Times, the Gardena-based retailer, which filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, will keep open stores that are still operating.

"Stores will stay open without interruption," the Times said. "The retailer is seeking court permission to pay pre-filing wages and benefits, honor existing customer programs and deposits and maintain its cash management system."

Z Gallerie has closed 21 stores, mostly in March, and has not announced any new store closing. The stores that were closed "were either poor performers or in markets that the retailer wanted to pull out of."

Besides the store in Walnut Creek, Z Gallerie also has a store on Berkeley's Fouth Street and San Francisco's Union Street.

It has local stores in Berkeley on Fourth Street, in San Francisco on Union Street, in Walnut Creek on Mt. Diablo Boulevard, in Corte Madera, Sacramento, San Jose and Roseville.