Winter storm brings sales surge

Winter storm Juno effectively shut down businesses in New England on Tuesday, but anticipation of the storm generated major sales on Monday.

“Monday was one of our best selling days in the history of the company,” said Geof Webb, director of marketing and advertising for Rocky’s Ace Hardware, a 32-store family owned company based in Springfield, Massachusetts. “Although stores were packed throughout the day and into the evening, we were able to take care of customers and their needs, with a few exceptions. We did run out of snowthrowers.”

Tuesday was a completely different story, he said, as governors of most of the New England states where Rocky’s operates had declared a “state of emergency.” That meant closed doors.

“We were able to reserve product and stores are being replenished today and tomorrow. There are two smaller storms in the forecast, one for Friday and another Sunday night into Monday," Webb told HBSDealer.com. “We will be stocked and ready to satisfy our customers’ needs in the communities we serve.”