As the global supply chain crisis continues, retailers are working to meet consumer demand for the upcoming holiday season. It hasn't been easy. "We're trying to stay as upbeat as we can," said Brian Lawrence, president of Emigh's Hardware Store in Sacramento, California. "We're waiting on Christmas trees right now. Hoping they'll get here in the next few weeks."The trees, and other holiday goods, have been stuck on cargo ships docked at Los Angeles and Long Beach for months."Normally is here in October," Lawrence said. "Now it's probably mid-November to the later part of November." Shelves normally bursting with Christmas lights this time of year are now three-quarters or half full. The store is also seeing shortages in any product with metal or plastic parts."We normally have a lot more hacksaw blades, and right now we just have a few," Lawrence said. "We are trying to pivot and get products from different suppliers."Shipping delays are also causing issues with seasonal inventory. Lawrence says he only just received the shipment of patio furniture meant for the summer. Now, he'll have to figure out how to sell them in the fall and winter months. "We are doing our best to keep prices competitive," Lawrence said. "We used to pay $3,500 to $4,000 to get a container from overseas. Now it's upward of $20,000 for a container to get here."The crush of shipping delays and labor and inventory shortages is also being felt at Mixed Bag, another small business in California."It's been uncomfortable, to say the least," said owner Linda Novi.Her store only just got their Halloween inventory on Thursday, two weeks before the holiday."We're ordering more than we normally would because we know if we order 100 pieces we'll be lucky to get 50," Novi said.Her store is doing what it can to shield customers from prices that will inevitably have to increase, due to elevated shipping costs."It used to be $3,000 to $4,000 per container from overseas," Novi said. "It's now $15,000 to $16,000 per container. Our shipping prices have increased unbelievably."Mixed Bag is still waiting for items to come in from orders placed 10 months ago."There are a lot of vendors we ordered from in January and we still haven't ," said store manager Wendy Gray.
As the global supply chain crisis continues, retailers are working to meet consumer demand for the upcoming holiday season.
It hasn't been easy.
"We're trying to stay as upbeat as we can," said Brian Lawrence, president of Emigh's Hardware Store in Sacramento, California. "We're waiting on Christmas trees right now. Hoping they'll get here in the next few weeks."
The trees, and other holiday goods, have been stuck on cargo ships docked at Los Angeles and Long Beach for months.
"Normally [our inventory] is here in October," Lawrence said. "Now it's probably mid-November to the later part of November."
Shelves normally bursting with Christmas lights this time of year are now three-quarters or half full. The store is also seeing shortages in any product with metal or plastic parts.
"We normally have a lot more hacksaw blades, and right now we just have a few," Lawrence said. "We are trying to pivot and get products from different suppliers."
Shipping delays are also causing issues with seasonal inventory. Lawrence says he only just received the shipment of patio furniture meant for the summer. Now, he'll have to figure out how to sell them in the fall and winter months.
"We are doing our best to keep prices competitive," Lawrence said. "We used to pay $3,500 to $4,000 to get a container from overseas. Now it's upward of $20,000 for a container to get here."
The crush of shipping delays and labor and inventory shortages is also being felt at Mixed Bag, another small business in California.
"It's been uncomfortable, to say the least," said owner Linda Novi.
Her store only just got their Halloween inventory on Thursday, two weeks before the holiday.
"We're ordering more than we normally would because we know if we order 100 pieces we'll be lucky to get 50," Novi said.
Her store is doing what it can to shield customers from prices that will inevitably have to increase, due to elevated shipping costs.
"It used to be $3,000 to $4,000 per container from overseas," Novi said. "It's now $15,000 to $16,000 per container. Our shipping prices have increased unbelievably."
Mixed Bag is still waiting for items to come in from orders placed 10 months ago.
"There are a lot of vendors we ordered from in January and we still haven't [gotten those items]," said store manager Wendy Gray.
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