Despite a downturn in the economy and a disappointing year for the stock market, many local retailers say their holiday season was profitable.

"Holiday sales were good, late and strong," said Gene Kowalski, store manager for the South Square Mall Hudson Belk. "We had an early cold weather snap and it was like panic buying. All of the gloves, scarves and coats went."

Many retails said they were thankful for the extra weekend of shopping before Christmas, which fell on a Monday this year. Jeremy DeWitt, manager of the Abercrombie and Fitch at South Square, said sales were up 29 percent during the week before Christmas. DeWitt's store, however, finished the month with 1 percent to 2 percent lower profits than the same month in 1999-mostly due to 25 percent and 22 percent lower sales in the first two weeks of December respectively.

As local retailers look to future sales in 2001, recent talk of an economic slump may be troubling.

University of North Carolina Professor of Economics Pat Conway said that the slowdown has spared the Triangle considerably so far. "The demand for products coming from the Triangle remain strong on the agenda of both businesses and consumers," he said.

Conway added that the inflow of residents and businesses to the area has helped to provide regional retailers with continued business.

DeWitt attributed his store's slow sales in the first half of December to political and economic uncertainty. "I think the reason a lot of people were slow was due to the election and not knowing how the economy would be."

Several Durham shoppers agreed that the election turmoil may have altered spending habits. "I think [the downturn] was really more a product of the election year than anything else. I don't think the situation is long-term," said Carrboro resident Sharon Hart. "We have a strong economy."

However, Conway warned that stock market losses and corporate woes nationwide will inevitably hurt the local economy. "A lot of the stuff [area companies like] Nortel and Cisco make are sold to businesses, so as businesses fall in production, demand for products coming out of the Research Triangle is falling off. It's not falling off a cliff, but it is a downward ramp and so far it has been pretty gentle."

Following the recent economic slowdown, and anticipating its lingering effects, businesses are looking for ways to stabilize their profits.

Todd Tonnemacher, owner of Simply Hip Boutique in Brightleaf Square, said he expected upper-end clothing stores like his to be hit first. "I'm really planning for our sales to be flat. A lot of retailers are expecting to be down, but we are a small shop and have a specialized clientele," he said.

Tonnemacher said his clientele is largely composed of Duke students and young professional women. Although he expected his customers to change their spending habits very little, his store has moved to a cheaper price range to maintain sales volume.

Kowalski said Hudson Belk has positioned themselves in the "moderate to better" category of retailers rather than the luxury sector, which he thinks should allow the company to avoid a fall-off in demand.

Pam Crigler, owner of The Play House toy store on Ninth Street, said she feels that toy sales will remain fairly constant throughout any economic slump. "In general people still have kids and kids need toys and those needs don't go away," she said. "Adult toys like cars may be hurt."

Retailers may be glad to know that several shoppers said the aching stock market would affect their savings, not their expenditures.

"It hasn't affected my family at all [in current spending].... We've lost some retirement money but we expect to get it back," said Hart.

John Laylock, who retired to Durham from Pittsburgh, said that although his stock portfolio dropped 33 percent last year, he continues to spend, anticipating that the market will even out in the end.