Square Sales

Seasoned shoppers and window watchers alike are pounding the pavements this week, taking advantage of a rash of clearance sales sweeping the Harvard Square retail market.

Attempting to make room for spring and summer items, department stores and clothing emporia have drastically reduced their winter-item prices, creating a bonanza for bargain hunters looking to add that one last item to their winter stock.

As students and area residents acquired new wardrobes overnight, many retailers reported heavy volumes of shoppers over the holiday weekend. Throughout Cambridge and Boston, stores are marking down their merchandise and posting "Sale" signs. Even Filene's Basement, long acknowledged by bargain hunters of all breeds as a mecca for the best grabs, had record sales during the celebratory sale commemorating Washington's Birthday.

The downtown Boston store grossed over $1 million last Monday in a price-slashing extravaganza which included furs, diamonds, oriental rugs and high fashion clothing from some of Boston's most prestigious stores, says advertising copy chief Maria J. DiChiaria.

DiChiaria describes what might be labelled as a cult-like following of the discount chain. "Some people follow our ads from year to year and call to find out if we plan to sell the same day as we did last year," she says. Other loyal followers, "the best bargain hunters in Boston," spend their lunch hours in the store every day of the work week, she adds.

Other department stores, including Nieman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and the Coop, are still in the midst of winter clearance sales. But few of these stores get completely caught up in Presidents' Day fever. Saks Fifth Avenue, for instance, would never resort to gimmicks like dressing up salesmen in colonial costume to honor the nation's first president. Fashion Director Doris Yafste says she feels such actions might not be appropriate to the store's high fashion image. "We would never do that--it's so unsophisticated," she says.

From Cars to Clothes

Many retailers and experts say that the historical roots of Washington's Birthday clearance sales come from outside the retail industry. "In Boston, Washington's Birthday was traditionally a big day for the sale of automobiles dating back previous to the 1950s," says Trumbull Professor of American History Donald H. Fleming.

Many retailers emphasized that automobile dealerships, the appliance industry and department stores advertise on Washington's Birthday to a greater extent than smaller retail establishments. "Most retail stores used to close for Washington's Birthday up until the 1950s. They initially used sales as a means to attract attention and inform consumers that they were open for business," says Tommi Block, a spokesman for the National Retail Merchandisers Association, an industry wide trade organization composed of 50,000 retailing firms.

However, most store managers recall that the Presidents' Weekend sales have historically acted as a signal to consumers that the winter season is ending and that the spring line is on the way.

"It's the time when all the spring clothes are coming in and you simply have to clear space in the store," says Laura C. Harbolt, Serendipity's manager. "People wouldn't normally be shopping, so the sales keep revenues on an even keel."

"The industry dictates when you can purchase your spring merchandise. If you don't buy the spring lines now, you lose the season," says a salesperson at the Cambridge Shop, which is presently offering five dollars off its already reduced winter merchandise.

The sales attract some shoppers to stores where they might not ordinarily shop, say retailers. "There are definitely people that don't ordinarily shop here coming in," says Urban Outfitters Womens Clothing Manager Eileen V. Waters. "People that are more fashion conscious might not buy some of our lowest priced sale items," she adds.

Most sales will continue until winter stocks are depleted or until stores run out of storage space and are forced to put spring clothes out on the floor, most managers say.

Arm Yourselves

In the Square this week, though, nothing seemed to matter but bargains. "We're going into every building," says high school junior Doreen Raphael, a Long Island resident visiting the Square on a quest for Harvard boxer shorts.

"I bought a $75 sweater for $22.50. Can you believe it?" says Boston University freshman Rachel S. Cohen, excitedly clutching bags filled with purchases from several Square haunts.

But some students expressed reservations that clearance sales often don't sell what they advertise.

"I don't like clearance sales simply because stores are usually left with odd-sized or clothes no one wants to buy," says Claverly resident Jon A. Stein '89.

Others were concerned that the commercial hype associated with Presidents' Weekend season might overshadow the patriotic significance of the holiday.

"It is a profanation that the holiday days of our great president are now sale days. Instead of going to patriotic celebration, you go get a bargain. It's very American, too much so," says Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield '53, who nonetheless admits to being "a great fan" of Filene's basement.

But Dunwalke Assistant Professor of Government Alan Brinkley, not a bargain hunter himself, says that conclusions about the commercialization of American government tied to Washington's Birthday sales would be difficult to draw.

"The major significance of Washington's Birthday to most Americans is having a day off and sales. Washington has become a purely symbolic figure and it's not surprising that Washington's Birthday has little meaning in that context," he says.