Shoe Department Stores

OCEANSIDE: Woman causes stir spending thousands on strangers at discount store

Dozens of hopeful women lined up Thursday outside a discount store in Oceanside, searching for the return of a somewhat eccentric philanthropist who spent $7,200 on strangers in the two previous days, but the deep pockets never showed.

Instead, employees at the Everything a Deal shop on Plaza Drive spent the day restoring order to the shop's racks and shelves that had been laid waste during the spending spree.

Ana Garcia, a cashier at the store, pulled clothes from a shopping cart and put them back on hangers as she recalled the scene from Tuesday.

The frenzy started when a woman, Claudia Smith, arrived at the store on Tuesday and announced she would pay for purchases for Mexican women, workers said. Smith ended up spending $2,200 on Tuesday.

Smith returned to the store on Wednesday and created chaos by shelling out another $5,000 on 50 women, said Marco Mitrowke, the loss prevention officer for the retail chain's 15 San Diego area stores.

Garcia said women piled their shopping carts several feet high expecting Smith to pay for everything.

She said one customer walked away with $800 worth of clothing and accessories before a $100 limit was placed on each woman's purchases.

"She said it was only for women and for children, not the husbands," Garcia said.

Mitrowke and other employees said Thursday that Smith was "flamboyant" while offering her credit cards and a personal check for the purchases, yelling about her love for Hispanic women and slurring obscenities about men.

The San Diego Union Tribune reported that Smith screamed out "Aye, Aye Aye Aye, Ayeeee!" and "You'd better laugh when I'm around!" while standing in the store. The paper also identified Smith as a 66-year-old Oceanside resident.

Smith could not be reached for comment. She is not the same Claudia Smith who is an attorney for the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation and has been quoted several times in the North County Times.

Mitrowke said Smith told customers and employees on Wednesday that she was a recovering drug addict and alcoholic, but that she said she was not on anything while she was at the store. He said he called the police to the store to make sure Smith was mentally competent.

"My concern was that the customers were getting what they wanted, that it was safe and that it was kept in an orderly fashion," Mitrowke said.

He said customers on Wednesday had filled about 35 shopping carts to their tops "and then some," averaging about $8,000 to $10,000 per cart, before Smith agreed to limit their purchases to $100 each.

Madison Avenue Spy: A Shoe-Addicts' Guide to Spring Sales

All of our major department stores--Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Barney’s--have started their semi-annual shoe sales. This presents savvy shoppers with the inevitable dilemma of where to go for the best deals on that pair of heels we have been pining over all season long. We’ve done all the legwork and formulated our first Shoe Addicts’ Shoppers Guide: A shoe source tells us that Louboutin and Chanel shoes will be going on sale at 40% off on June 15th, but that presale orders can be placed this week. Eventually, Barney’s shoe discounts do go to 50% to 60% off, but sizes and styles may be limited. We suggest keeping a watch on Barneys.com, which sometimes has an even better selection than the flagship store. We especially appreciate Saks' wide selection of on-trend shoes. We found Yves Saint Laurent Tribtoo 105 pumps available in “Buffalo Iridescent” (a brown leather) and metallic gold and bronze for $557, as well as in a nude Python version for $906. There were also Brian Atwood Maniac pumps available in patent leather, although the color options are only lime green and bright orange. One issue we have with Bergdorf is the size of the shoe department, which seems evens smaller when it’s taken over by grabby and pushy shoppers bargain shoppers. The discount is currently 30% off but will increase to 40% in few weeks. Chanel and Christian Louboutin, will be added to the markdown on June 15th but the discount will be just 30%. If you like avoiding the sales crowds and don’t mind paying extra for shipping, this may be a good alternative. Not all Nordstrom stores carry very high end designers. Locally, you can contact the Paramus store, but if you are feeling a bit more adventerous, try searching outside the NY-metro area by calling Boston, MA (listed below), Scottsdale, AZ or Houston, TX. I’m a fashion/business journalist turned blogger. New York Magazine, ABC News, Smart Money and The Wall Street Journal are just a few stops that have prepared me for this particular endeavor. I’m writing on my time about what I know best: Shopping. No sale is too private. No brand too aspirational. I’m breaking it down and dishing the best deals—and we’re not talking sample sales. This is the real deal gurl!

Krizia shoes for $50. Check. Prada 90% off. Check. Louboutin friends and family. Check.

You get the picture.

Boot and shoe recorder, the magazine of fashion footwear

Retail management, satisfaction of consumer needs

Golden book of the Wanamaker stores, Jubilee year, 1861-1911

The Shoe workers' journal

Frommer's London 2011