Sometimes, retailers are able to plan out their stock situation to ensure they have enough inventory when they need it — and sometimes they are forced to just react to stock arriving later in the season than they would have liked.
Somehow, the old saying “may you live in interesting times” comes to mind right about now.
The outdoor retail space has indeed been somewhat interesting over the past several seasons — and a spot-check of East Coast retailers shows how they have dealt with the here-today-or-maybe-in-six-months business reality of today’s supply chain.
Some are still fighting the battles, and, for some, the incoming shipments have become more predictable.
Jake Pickel, assistant vice president of sales for Johnny Janosek says that inventory has been king for the past couple of years.
“Like most retailers, we received late-summer shipments of outdoor furniture, after the peak selling time,” says Pickel. “Now, manufacturers are getting back to a normal production schedule. We did not need to order as much, based on our current inventory level and factories being able to deliver on a much more realistic basis.”
At Johnny Janosek, sales did slow, which Pickel attributes to exterior factors.
“Our traffic counters showed a slowdown in traffic, starting last March into April when the war in Ukraine started and gas prices spiked,” he says. “This has affected sales compared to 2021. If you compare 2022 to 2019 or 2020, we are still ahead. My thoughts are that traffic will continue to trend down into 2023 but sales will stay above the 2019 level.”
Customers need to know that now’s the time to buy, he says.
“We have plenty of in-stock products that can be delivered immediately and we guarantee the lowest price,” says Pickel.
Cathy Buzbee, co-owner of Absco Fireplace & Patio says that her business has a lot of stock just now, because it didn’t come in as anticipated.
“We have quite a bit of inventory on hand right now due to the fact that we didn’t receive several of our 2022 early buys until after Labor Day,” she says. “It makes it very difficult to write another early buy for a company in September/October for 2023, when we literally just got our 2022 inventory.
“We did stock up heavy on our bestsellers that we know we can get in a reasonable amount of time (18-20 weeks). This has allowed us to keep a large inventory on hand of our bestsellers so that we aren’t caught without anything to sell. It may not be exactly what the customer wants, but it will have to do.”
Buzbee says that she has seen a slowdown in foot traffic, but the sales are still coming.
“We are pretty even with 2021, so I feel like that’s a big win in this economy,” Buzbee says. “I do expect a huge downturn due to the economy of our country right now. As prices jump higher and higher, it’s going to get harder and harder to convince customers to purchase.”
Buzbee’s message to potential customers?
“My message to consumers would be to buy now while we have it and before the next price increase that we know is coming!” she says.
Olivia Smith, part owner of Custom Outdoor Furniture & Restrapping, says that her store purposefully bought more furniture because of the long lead times.
“Now we have surplus stock for the upcoming season, which is not a bad thing,” says Smith.
Smith says that at Custom Outdoor, she is seeing some slowing in sales, which was predictable.
“We are seeing the normal fall/winter slowdown but we expect this spring to be similar to last spring, and we are prepared for it,” says Smith. Her advice to consumers differed somewhat: Don’t necessarily buy today and pick up the goods today because they are in stock. Instead, she said, plan for the future.
“Now is the time to place custom orders for next spring,” Smith says.
