07-20-2020, 05:42 AM
"With the unfortunate scale back of stocking shelves and sales limited also effects employee work hours to furloughs to unemployment. I sincerely hope it doesn't come to any of that especially the latter."
At SW, we have not been reducing hours or doing furloughs. We have been overwhelmed so far with customers. Even on 7.19.20 Fishing in my store was so busy that we had people buying fishing rods out of a shopping cart we were using to price some rods that came in late Saturday. I can't speak to other stores or my competitors, but from what I have seen it has actually been harder with reduced inventory. People getting
, wanting something we don't have, wanting to know where they can get it. It is time consuming and exhausting, and we have absolutely no control over it. 
A side note, I have heard that "stores canceled their orders early on......" or some version of it. Were that true, the "stores" that did not do it would be flush with all of the product the others canceled. There is just none of those store that exist with all of that excess product. It would make sense from a bean counter point of view (accountants). If you thought that sales would collapse with no one being able to buy, it would make sense. The problem is that it takes months to negotiate prices and sales at this level and canceling takes as long. Bean Counters simply could not have enforced the plan, even though on paper it made sense.
As for Amazon, they have been a good source for a lot of people, but even they are drying up. A lot of people are complaining to me that items they ordered and expected in days are taking weeks or are being canceled. Yes, it is that far reaching. My own father's day present is one of those casualties.
The statement that SW, or our competitors, are "scaling" back stocking is misleading. Scaling back implies that we have chosen to not stock, receive, or buy. If we could get it, it would be out. Our companies would be rolling in the dough if it were possible. One chain of store might mess up and "scale back", but all of the chains would not have made that mistake.
Yes, hunting is also suffering, but at least most of the hunting is not "China" driven. It is still largely made on foreign soil, but lots of the problem is still plain old fear, and plain old "I got to get outside and I have got to do it now". Between my fishing, and my shooting, I am part of the problem as well. I can't spend my money on other things and my wife wants me out of the house (something about bouncing off the walls). But if you have ever sit on a three legged stool, I bet you know what loosing two out of the three legs would be like.
Right now, as stated, if it is outside sports related, it is in short supply. I am old enough to remember when most of the stuff was made in the good ole USA. I sure wish it still was.
At SW, we have not been reducing hours or doing furloughs. We have been overwhelmed so far with customers. Even on 7.19.20 Fishing in my store was so busy that we had people buying fishing rods out of a shopping cart we were using to price some rods that came in late Saturday. I can't speak to other stores or my competitors, but from what I have seen it has actually been harder with reduced inventory. People getting
, wanting something we don't have, wanting to know where they can get it. It is time consuming and exhausting, and we have absolutely no control over it. A side note, I have heard that "stores canceled their orders early on......" or some version of it. Were that true, the "stores" that did not do it would be flush with all of the product the others canceled. There is just none of those store that exist with all of that excess product. It would make sense from a bean counter point of view (accountants). If you thought that sales would collapse with no one being able to buy, it would make sense. The problem is that it takes months to negotiate prices and sales at this level and canceling takes as long. Bean Counters simply could not have enforced the plan, even though on paper it made sense.
As for Amazon, they have been a good source for a lot of people, but even they are drying up. A lot of people are complaining to me that items they ordered and expected in days are taking weeks or are being canceled. Yes, it is that far reaching. My own father's day present is one of those casualties.
The statement that SW, or our competitors, are "scaling" back stocking is misleading. Scaling back implies that we have chosen to not stock, receive, or buy. If we could get it, it would be out. Our companies would be rolling in the dough if it were possible. One chain of store might mess up and "scale back", but all of the chains would not have made that mistake.
Yes, hunting is also suffering, but at least most of the hunting is not "China" driven. It is still largely made on foreign soil, but lots of the problem is still plain old fear, and plain old "I got to get outside and I have got to do it now". Between my fishing, and my shooting, I am part of the problem as well. I can't spend my money on other things and my wife wants me out of the house (something about bouncing off the walls). But if you have ever sit on a three legged stool, I bet you know what loosing two out of the three legs would be like.
Right now, as stated, if it is outside sports related, it is in short supply. I am old enough to remember when most of the stuff was made in the good ole USA. I sure wish it still was.