Shortages are real but local stores coping
While grocers say they are well stocked for the holidays, other shops are feeling the supply chain strain as the holiday season kicks into high gear.
According to Charles Redfield, executive vice president of Walmart, concern for a turkey
shortage drove an early surge in sales. During the month of October, frozen turkey sales were up over 100% compared to last year.
“Because our merchants anticipated customers would shop earlier, we planned ahead and secured ample supply,” Redfield said.
Kroger has also been planning ahead.
“I can tell you that we feel great about our ability to serve our customers' needs through the holidays. We remain focused on providing a full, fresh and friendly experience for our customers, and while that has required a bit of nimbleness and ongoing proactiveness as the
supply chain continues to evolve, we feel as if we are well positioned,” Amy Mccormick, their Corporate Affairs manager said.
Community Markets did not respond to request for comment.
At Western Ohio True Value, President Lee Kuenning said they have plenty of Christmas decorations.
“We were lucky. We placed a lot of orders very early so that they would be here on time. I would say we got about 80 percent of what we
ordered in,” Kuenning said, adding Christmas decoration sales have been strong so far.
At Haehn’s Florist, Owner Mick Haehn said many of the supplies used at Haehn’s are made overseas, and the bottleneck of ships at the ports has affected them.
“We have been getting items, but it’s about 50 percent of what we’ve ordered,” Haehn said.
In order to mitigate the shortage, he has
ordered more product from several different companies, and is “stocked nicely” for the winter season.
And he confirmed they have Christmas Poinsettias in stock.
Looking ahead for snowy weather days, Kuenning said those supplies like ice melter will be arriving soon. He expects demand to go up after the next snowfall.
“We are definitely experiencing some shipping issues in receiving key products that people need,” Kuenning said.
He said pipefittings and tools made overseas are harder to find.
“What normally would take a week to get is now taking a month to get,” Kuenning said.
He is using the opportunity to use contacts to bring in American-made products as much as possible, because he can get them faster. However, that often brings a higher price point.
Kuenning predicts a shortage of power equipment and has been informed by vendors that he will not be able to secure any additional snow blowers for the rest of the winter season.