Exchange rates = more tourist pounds, euros spent in O.C.
December 20th, 2007, 8:42 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Hang Nguyen, retail reporter
Canadians Ben and Berny Jorgenson put off the majority of their Christmas shopping until they got to Orange County.
The husband and wife drove down from Winnipeg to visit their daughter in Garden Grove for about two weeks before they head to Palm Springs for three months. Instead of cramming the trunk of their Buick LeSabre with gifts, they saved the valuable space for luggage.
So Orange County shops will get $300 to $400 of the Jorgensons’ money.
Had this been a year ago, they would not have delayed their gift buying until they reached Orange County. Then, the Canadian dollar was worth about 85 cents. But today, the two currencies are on par, thanks to a weakening US dollar.
“We’re elated” about the exchange rate, said Ben Jorgenson, 77.
So are retailers. This holiday season, sales are predicted to rise at the slowest pace in five years, according to the National Retail Federation, because of economic factors such as falling home values and rising gas prices. A bump in business from tourists is welcome news.
New York boutiques aren’t the only ones benefiting from Europeans who are treating their exchange rates like everything-off coupons and Canadians who are flexing their strong currencies.
At the Travelex Worldwide Money store at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, the amount of Canadian dollars exchanged for American dollars rose by 11 percent in November vs. the same month last year, said Molly Ablett, sales manager for the company’s Los Angeles and Orange County stores.
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