NIGHT LIFE

“The future of retailing will be 24 hours,” predicts Ken Weller, vice president of the Good Guys. Axl Rose would probably agree. So would Janet Jackson, Julian Lennon and George Hamilton, who have all been spotted walking after midnight at L.A.’s only all-night electronics emporium. So, too, would all the other, less-celebrated shoppers of the night who prefer the more mellow atmosphere of after-hours retail. On a recent Monday night the store on La Cienega Boulevard buzzed with a gaggle of insomniac audiophiles.

12:10 a.m.: Jonathan D., movie distributor, surrenders himself to an $800-plus surround-sound receiver. “I came in for speaker wire,” he says wistfully.

12:30 a.m.: Constance H., makeup artist, purchases a new telephone. “It takes me a long time to pick things out,” Constance admits. (She returned it later that same night.)

1:10 a.m.: Renato D., restaurateur, brings some visitors from Italy and buys a calculator. “When I finish at the restaurant, I like to relax.” Renato frequently combines shopping with tour hosting.

1:25 a.m.: Jay M., record producer and Good Guys regular, browses. “I come here and kick with the guys (the clerks). I’m often here till 6 in the morning.”

He’s not alone. Good Guys sales reps say some people browse until dawn. In this gadget-greedy age, an all-night electronics store seems a necessity for people on a swing shift, and for those who awaken in the middle of the night with a desperate need for a GameBoy.