The fashion world is in desperate need of a Black Friday surprise

Lizzie Osorio remembers customers flooding into Lions Boots in early May, browsing embroidered shoes and suede clothing.

Beyoncé had four concerts scheduled in Los Angeles at Sofi Stadium for her Cowboy Carter tour. So the store is tied in Santee Alley where the 24-year-old Osorio works selling Cowboy boots and other Western clothing was a perfect place for fans.

Osorio expects, or perhaps hopes, the store will see similar traffic during the early Thanksgiving holiday week.

After President Trump’s dismissal of the Transportation Crackdown, that remains to be seen. Over the summer, several crashes in the neighborhood sparked protests. But mass arrests and fears of evictions turned the fashion district into a small town in the weeks after, with shuttered storefronts and panicked workers staying at home.

The story was the same in other business districts that cater to immigrants. Although conditions have improved in recent months, retailers are still hurting and in desperate need of a holiday miracle.

Local authorities and activists are encouraging people to shop on Black Friday and beyond, including celebrating the weekend. But it remains unclear how many will feel safe enough to come out.

Some vendors are “living things up for sale,” said Anthony Rodriguez, president of the Fashion Business Development District, a private group of property owners in the area.

“These are not big box stores. These are family-owned and, in some cases, more productive businesses than they need to cut back on $10 to $15 support … that’s how we can do it.”

On Monday, Osorio said he was making one sale: utility boots.

He opened the store at 9:30 a.m. and sold boots around 2 p.m. marked down $30 from their usual $160 price because customers were reluctant to spend money, he said.

“We are waiting for good times,” Osorio said. “Honestly, I felt like it was going to get better this week, but it’s really been slow. We just have to pray and keep the faith.” Let’s see what happens. “

Small businesses in the area — including All Shopping Mall, a historic open-air mall known for its bargain prices — are looking for ways to recoup some of their losses from holiday sales.

Shoppers are leaving Santee Alley in Downtown’s Fashion District where business owners are working to recover from losses caused by recent immigration enforcement.

Foot traffic in the area has returned to levels seen before the federal traffic attack began in Los Angeles in early June, according to the business improvement district.

But Rodriguez said that the traffic changes from day to day and that at the “mercy” of rumors, sometimes false, the activities of the organization were spread between the group’s discussions and members of the public.

Such notifications are quickly turned off at a moment’s notice “to people literally running to their stores,” Rodriguez said. He said, one day, agents from the US Fish and Wildlife Service were conducting an investigation in the area and were confused by customs and border police.

Rodriguez said there are “very good reasons” to heed the warnings but minimizing their damaging effects is essential to economic recovery.

Visitors to shops and businesses in the fashion district dropped sharply in the week or so after the attacks that began on June 6

Rodriguez said it took at least three weeks to get foot traffic, and because of that, sellers are struggling because “people aren’t using it like they’re popular anymore.”

And a general holiday boost is likely to be seen, Rodriguez said.

“As of right now, we’re not seeing the holiday pound that we’ve seen in previous years,” he said.

In May, the fashion district saw 1.98 million visits, and in June that number dropped to 1.2 million, according to the group. In September, the region saw 1.3 million visitors, less than the 1.5 million the area saw during the same period last year.

Santee Alley in Downtown’s Fashion District where business owners are working to recover from losses caused by recent immigration enforcement.

Pop music rang out at open doors Monday afternoon on Santee Street as the lights came on. A handful of storefronts were closed, but most were open, ready to welcome visitors and local families to do their holiday shopping. Clumps of customers are collected. The alley was lined up for weeks after the first summer attack.

Maria Fuendes, 43, and her daughter had waited more than seven hours, starting at 9 am, to buy wedding dresses. They would make more than an hourlong trek from Eastvale in Riversude County to look for formal clothes and shoes. Fuendes said he often bathes in the area around the holidays and that he “feels empty” compared to previous years.

“It’s kind of creepy and lonely,” Fuertes said.

More than half of the businesses on Alley and Santee Street reported that their sales were down after the attacks on people at work, and some fared better than others. The lingerie store saw a dip but not a severe one, with online sales remaining strong. The owner of an accessories store said business was down 30%, and an employee at a jewelry store said business was down 70%.

The local merchants association known as Somos Los Callejones and the Los Angeles Tenants Union partnered with Councilor Ysabel Jurado to hold a street festival on Saturday to attract black shoppers.

According to Jurado’s office, the festival drew another 500 attendees. Vendors set up booths and racks of clothing on Olympic Boulevard between Santee Street and Maple Avenue, which was closed to traffic. The event featured live music, and the organizers were overwhelmed by 10 turkeys.

Shoppers stroll along maple ave. in the Downtown district where business owners are working to recover from losses caused by recent immigration enforcement.

The raffy of turkeys highlighted the food insecurity faced by many families in the area, Jurado said in an interview. Some have lost their breadwinners to the Trump Administration’s deportation efforts, and children have begun skipping school to keep their homes from running out of energy.

“Some were very happy to win [turkeys]”Jurado said, adding that food insecurity” has always been really good for us. “

He said: “These are the realities that people continue to face,” he said, “as their loved ones have been taken away.”

Businesses say they sell deals where possible – and emphasize customer service.

California Mirage Jewelry Design Center, which is Prime Real Estate at the entrance of Santee Alley and has been operating since the 1990s, has been getting 30% off everything since last week, a promotion that will last through Black Friday.

Carolina Medrano, 38, a shop worker on Monday evening rearranged the gold chains that threw back, even with a discount, businesses were still “slightly.”

“I believe everyone is struggling,” said Jessica Morales, 40, a worker at a nearby clothing retailer who asked that the store not be named, because she did not have permission from her boss.

While using a long pole with a hook to hang a bright pink dress on the top rack, Moreles said some customers became aggressive trying to negotiate with other vendors.

He tries to emphasize the quality and variety of the store’s clothing, and that other nearby retailers can’t afford to keep their inventory well-stocked.

Some clients talk about canceled Quinceañeras, or their husbands tell them they’re always going to stay away from parties for fear of being moved, Morise said.

“People are trying to save their money. Everyone is afraid to go out,” said Moses. “You have to find a way to connect with customers.”

Women’s clothing on display at the corner of Olympic Blvd. and maple a

Hit to Deams of Aftermation The attack comes as the domestic economy is already suffering, trade disruptions, tourism disruptions and exchange conflicts and other economic pressures are forcing consumers to spend less.

Ilse Metchek, former president of the California fashion assn. Who has worked in the industry since the 1950s, said the goods sold in Santee Alley have changed in recent years. It was replaced by high-quality local products – then sold at bargain prices – imitations or cheap goods often imported from abroad.

According to Richard Riordan, who served as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993 to 2001, “it was a well-done trip [through Santee Alley] Where he pays $10 for a silk shirt and does everything for himself,” Metchek said.

The departure of the President of the time the President gave amnesty, to give legal status and a path to citizenship for many immigrants who received approval, he said.

Immigration Crackdown In recent years, regulations that have increased labor costs, and manufacturing in China in China in the early 2000s have created a difficult economy for California fashion brands.

“It’s a pity,” Mettchek said. “There is a clear pattern to why and what happened here. This is not nuclear physics.”

Gloria Andrade, 53, is the owner of a cosmetics, accessories and electronics business in the Maple Alley Fashion Center in Downtown La that has been in business for about 25 years. In May, his family opened a second store near Santee Alley, not expecting to be attacked and torn down.

The view from the corner of Olympic Ave. and Santee St. in the Downtown district where business owners are working to recover from losses caused by recent immigration enforcement.

Andrade said the rent for his new place is about $4,500 for two months. Many neighboring businesses are in the same situation, she said.

“It’s the first day of the holiday and nobody came,” he said of the Thanksgiving holiday. “We’ll wait until Christmas to see how it goes.”