Major Retailers Planning for After-Hurricane Sales

The following is an excerpt of an article in:


The New York Times
Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Major Retailers Planning for After-Hurricane Sales

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

For retailers that sell home repair items and emergency supplies, a storm like Hurricane Sandy represents a logistical puzzle and a big sales opportunity.

Few retailers have in place plans as firm as these retailers do for when a storm hits.

Like its competitors — Wal-Mart and Lowe’s — Home Depot’s corporate eye was squarely on Hurricane Sandy a week ago, when the company’s supply-chain managers and merchants began preparing for the advancing storm by moving high-demand goods like generators from stores outside the storm’s path — California and Texas — to stores and distribution centers in its path.

The search also began for more vendors that could supply goods that would be heavily in demand, like plywood and bleach, by storm-struck customers from the Carolinas to Maine.

“We’re attempting to find goods anywhere and everywhere and move them toward New York and New Jersey. We’re making phone calls, and finding anything we can get our hands on to get them to people in the area,” said Doug Spiron, the company’s emergency response captain.

While meeting the needs of customers is a strong motivator, there is no denying that there is money to be made in a catastrophic storm’s advance and aftermath. Late fall is generally quiet for home supply retailers, but bad weather can increase sales.

Last year, for instance, Home Depot’s revenue jumped as a result of preparation and response to Hurricane Irene.

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