Thread: AZ:Mexican shoppers return

SB 1070 slowed traffic initially, but sales have picked up at many Tucson-area stores
Mexican shoppers return
Tim Steller Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Friday, December 24, 2010 12:00 am

Before SB 1070 was signed into law in April, Juan José López used to drive 12 hours from Culiacán, Sinaloa, to shop in Tucson.

Now that the law is in effect, López still drives from Culiacán to shop in Tucson. In fact, he was here Thursday with his wife and young daughter, shopping at Forever 21 in Park Place mall before driving home for Christmas Day.

The immigration law, he said, "doesn't worry us. We came to shop."

Local retailers and officials say there was a pause in the flow of shoppers from northern Mexico to Tucson this spring and summer, after the law was signed. But this holiday season, many, like Lopez, have come back - maybe not in the numbers of past years, but to a healthy degree.

That's important to the Tucson-area economy - about 5 percent of Pima County's sales-tax revenue comes from sales to shoppers from Mexico, according to a December 2008 study by University of Arizona researchers. The study also found that Pima County is the Arizona county that receives the greatest economic impact in terms of sales and jobs derived from Mexican visitors.

The impact isn't spread evenly, though - while some stores and shopping centers may have few customers from Mexico, others depend on them.

Aldo, a high-end shoe store at Park Place, is one of the stores that depends on them for the bulk of its sales, said store manager Miriam Amato. And this year sales to Mexican shoppers have suffered.

"It's a big drop," she said.

Just down the bright corridor, Robb Keith has also seen a drop in the number of Mexican shoppers at the Gap store he manages. The effects were drastic after SB 1070 was signed, he said, but traffic has slowly come back.

The "core shopper" keeps coming, he said - Keith and other retailers know them by name and sight - but the less loyal shoppers have not been as dependable this holiday season.

Felipe Garcia, who dedicates himself to bringing Mexican visitors to Tucson in his job at the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the bureau saw a shift in Sonorans' approach to Arizona this year. The bureau has an office in Hermosillo, Sonora's capital, where it makes reservations for visitors from Hermosillo.

After 1070 was signed into law, "we saw a decline in the number of reservations, we saw a sharp decline in the number of people going to our office," Garcia said. "But we had an increase in the number of phone calls, meaning that people didn't want to be seen going to the office."

Through November this year, the number of reservations made at the Hermosillo office is up by about 9 percent over the same period last year.

That reflects what Regina Harmon has seen this year as general manager of Tucson's Foothills Mall, where shoppers from Mexico account for about one-third of sales.

"They have been back in full force, since the weekend before Thanksgiving," she said.

Malls will be mobbed today

It's Black Friday, The Sequel. Stores are rolling out deals and expect to be swimming in shoppers today as stragglers take advantage of a day off work. For retailers, the last-minute rush caps the best year since 2007, and possibly ever.

With Christmas falling on a Saturday this year, today is a holiday for most U.S. workers. That lets shoppers hit the stores first thing.

But while many Black Friday shoppers relish the hunt, last-minute buyers are harried. And true to stereotype, they are mostly men, said Dan Jasper, spokesman for Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. Accordingly, stores push men's and women's sweaters. Jewelry also tends to be a top last-minute gift item.

Contact reporter Tim Steller at tsteller@azstarnet.com or 807-8427.
http://azstarnet.com/business/local/art ... ml?print=1

Now that the law is in effect, López still drives from Culiacán to shop in Tucson. In fact, he was here Thursday with his wife and young daughter, shopping at Forever 21 in Park Place mall before driving home for Christmas Day.

The immigration law, he said, "doesn't worry us. We came to shop."

Of course it (SB1070) doesn't “worryâ€

At least they are spending their remittance money in the US.

Gotta help support the ones US taxpayers are supporting.

I been to Arizona twice in 6 months and plan on going again next month, to spend money