Retailers usher in holiday season with early bird specials; bargain-hunters line up before dawn

Bargain hunters woke before dawn to head to stores and malls Friday, the official opening of the holiday shopping season, hoping to take advantage of early bird specials. <br><br>In a scene that played

Friday, November 29th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Bargain hunters woke before dawn to head to stores and malls Friday, the official opening of the holiday shopping season, hoping to take advantage of early bird specials.

In a scene that played out across the country, about 500 people lined up at a Wal-Mart store in Abington, Mass., before the discounter opened its doors at 5 a.m.

Among the early risers was Donna Gramazio of Brockton, Mass., who came out to buy children's bikes and a battery-operated toy Jeep, which was on sale for $197.

``I wanted to get my shopping done all in one day,'' she said.

One of the first in line at a Wal-Mart in Manville, N.J., was Jackie Hawkins, 45, of Somerville, N.J., who showed up a little after 4 a.m. for the 5 a.m. store opening. She was in search of a Nintendo Advanced Game Boy. Meanwhile, Joan Muniz, 48, of North Brunswick, N.J., was excited about the 27-inch television she got for $148.98.

For Michelle Fry, 39, of Manville, shopping on the day after Thanksgiving is a family tradition. But Fry admitted that she's never seen it quite as busy or as packed as it was Friday morning.

``Some people get hostile, and we have to hold them in check,'' she said.

In Bismarck, N.D., Wendy Anderson, 37, came out of K-B Toys with two large bags stuffed with items, including a Hasbro Fur Real Friend.

``I pretty much ran through the store. Eleven minutes to shop, save $200,'' she said gleefully.

Despite the crowds that showed up for the specials, analysts believe consumers will be tight-fisted this year.

``Sales will be intense. Consumers will turn out in full force to the mall, but there is a general feeling that consumers are going to be reticent,'' said Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Trend Report, based in Upper Montclair, N.J. ``They will look at the price tag before they look at the product.''

The nation's largest merchants have protected themselves with lean inventories so they won't have mounds of leftovers on Dec. 26. But stores might also have the opposite problem _ finding themselves with not enough merchandise if consumers decide to splurge.

After all, shoppers pleasantly surprised retailers last holiday season with last-minute buying binges that resulted in better-than-anticipated results.

But so far in November, merchants haven't seen any encouraging signs.

``Clearly, there is still considerable amount of uncertainty _ the prospect of war in Iraq and the economy. The consumer is still not on solid ground,'' said Michael P. Niemira, vice president of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. He is expecting sales at stores open at least a year to be up 3 percent for November and December combined. That's compared with a 2.2 percent increase last year.

The Washington-based National Retail Federation predicts total holiday retail sales, which exclude restaurant and auto sales, will increase by 4 percent to roughly $209.25 billion. That would make it the weakest increase since 1997.

Last holiday, retailers had $201.2 billion in sales, up 5.6 percent from 2000.

While the Thanksgiving weekend starts the shopping spree, it no longer is the busiest period of the season. Last year, the weekend accounted for 8.4 percent of holiday sales. The busiest period was the last week before Christmas, which accounted for 34 percent of holiday sales, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Some retailers are using new gimmicks to get shoppers into stores. Abercrombie & Fitch, aiming at the youth market, will have male models clad only in underwear greeting shoppers at stores in major cities Friday.