Retail Forecast Hazy for 'Carmageddon'
“Carmageddon” has been on the minds of Los Angeles County commuters for weeks, but it has received a collective shrug from retailers in the neighborhoods most affected by the shutdown. The affected area is the 405 freeway (known as the San Diego freeway) between the 10 and 101 freeways from 7 p.m. July 15 to 5 a.m. July 18. (The weekend closure has been popularly referred to as Carmageddon.)
Retailers on Los Angeles’ prominent Westside are not being nonchalant, said Whitney Wigle, marketing manager of the Westside Pavilion retail center, owned by Macerich Co. She said shop owners and mall management do not know what to expect from the weekend-long freeway closure.
“Either it is going to be gridlock or it is going to be like the 1984 Olympics, which saw a more than 30 percent drop in traffic,” Wigle said. “We’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Management at the Elyse Walker boutique in the affluent Westside neighborhood of Pacific Palisades forecast that it will be business as usual during the Carmageddon weekend, according to Beth Whiffen, the boutique’s director of communications. “Much of our clientele is local, so we are anticipating a busy weekend,” she wrote in an email. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw an increase in business this weekend since many people will be staying close to home.”
Westside boutique chain Madison is seizing the opportunity to host a topical sale. In a play on the name of the gridlocked freeway, the store will produce the 4(Oh 5!) sale. If a consumer buys four sale items, a fifth sale item of equal or lesser value to the purchased items will be given free on the days of July 16–17.
Boutiques on Santa Monica’s Montana Avenue were preparing for Carmageddon by making their stores more festive for the weekend with balloons and refreshments. They expect to see an increase in local traffic, said Jane Walker, manager of the Three Bags Full boutique. “They’ll rediscover their own backyards,” she said.—Andrew Asch
