It’s Saturday January 6th, 2007 and I finally have time to reflect on the past few weeks. I have been in retail hardware for over 21 years and cannot recall a time as crazy as the past few weeks. As you all know Colorado was hit with the blizzard of 2006, in three waves. The first wave was the worst and came on the Wednesday before Christmas. Round two came a week later and was milder, but didn’t help matters at all. Round three was just yesterday and can only be called a snowstorm, not a blizzard, but again added to the problems of the first two rounds. I have not seen storms like this in Colorado since I was a kid, which was a long time ago. The first was an old-fashioned windy, drifty, cold mess of a blizzard. The second was a wetter, heavier snow. All of these caused many problems and opened many opportunities.
Problems? Where to begin? Hundreds of places were closed, travel was awful, DIA shutdown, you’ve heard all about that. The roads are still a mess, rutted, icy, and like driving on off-road trails. Many businesses are still catching up from being closed for days. Supplies of everything were thrown for a loop. The modern just-in-time supply chain that works for almost all stores really gets screwed up in such a storm. But you’ve heard all about that too. What about the opportunities?
There were many, and we must thank all of you who gave us several opportunities. We were able to jump in and serve our community in these storms. How? By doing our best to get snow shovels, ice melt, snow blowers and other supplies that you all asked for. We went to many back-up supply sources to get you what you wanted. We were open everyday of the storms. Many of us worked extra hours and made special trips in the snow just to bring you snow related tools you wanted. We truly do appreciate all of you who have come in to the store in the past few weeks and purchased snow shovels, ice melt and the rest.
Why do we work harder at times like these? Because that’s what we do. We’re hardware people. We’re local people. We’re stuck in the snow with you. There’s not someone in a glass tower twelve states away telling us what to do. We can see the problems, we know what we must do to help and we go to it. That’s just one way we can serve our community. And it’s not just our store; it’s all Ace stores up and down the Front Range. It’s also not just our store, but all local businesses that care about their community. And then there are those of us who live close to the store, get up early and get the store dug out of the snow because we’re to dumb to know any better, but that’s my problem.
Did we run out of snow stuff? Yes, unfortunately several times. It’s been really hard to keep up with demand. We have sold, and I’m not kidding, eight to nine years worth of snow shovels, eight or nine years worth of snow blowers and four or five years worth of ice melt in the past three weeks. Combine that with our suppliers trying to restock, and ship us merchandise and you’ve got a logistical mess. I’m proud to say that all through this we constantly heard from you all that we were the only place in town that had any such items.
The other opportunities were more fun. Kids of all ages had snow and time and sledding became the number one activity. We’ve sold more sleds in the past three weeks than in the previous seventeen years combined. Neighborhoods pulled together to dig each other out, pull each other out, give rides, and bring supplies to those who could not get out. Kids were able to earn money digging people out. While many businesses may have suffered, others will flourish. People’s backs & muscles will need extra help soon. People’s cars will need new tires or alignment when this is done. Construction companies are able to make a bundle digging out parking lots. So while the economic impact for some business is bad, it’s good for others. It’s funny how things like this work out. We all end up paying for storms like this in one way or another. I’m no economic analyst but I’d say that when the dollars are all added up from the blizzard, the net gain in the Colorado economy is strong and positive.
So thank you all again for your support. We’ll keep trying to keep snow items in stock for you, and promise not to sing Let it Snow again for a long time!