Warm winter challenging for local hardware supplier

Feb. 26, 2020 | Dennis Hackett

Shovels line the back wall of Interstate Building supply in Southwick after a mild winter.
Reminder Publishing photo by Dennis Hackett

SOUTHWICK – After an unseasonably warm winter, Interstate Building Supply is getting ready to take the winter supplies off of its walls in favor of its spring materials.

Mike Dewberry, Interstate Building Supply’s general manager, said the current weather pattern has made things difficult when it comes to sales. “It’s brutal this time of year. There’s nothing, there’s no weather pattern, we’re not selling pumps. It’s just stagnant.

“It’s not cold enough to make ice, and we’re not getting any significant snowfall so we’re not selling shovels. That hurts and can hurt a company,” he added.

He said that while they may have lost out on supply sales, the store did not have to pay for plowing because of the lack of winter weather.

One of the unique challenges for this year is that the store orders its winter supplies in a two year cycle and this was the year they placed the order. 

“I buy enough for a two-year supply and this is the year I did the order,” he said, “It’s okay, we have the space and I get a better price ordering by the truckload than by the case.”

Because of the milder weather, Dewberry said he is already getting the store ready for spring. He said, “I’ve already given the go ahead to start converting the store over to spring time so that we have our fertilizer and grass seeds out just so we’re ready if we get an early spring.”

While the store is starting to offer its spring selection, Dewberry said that it’s still too early to put down grass seed and fertilizer. “I would not put it down yet, the ground’s still too cold even though it’s not frozen,” he said, “The key to every homeowner is to look at the forsythia bush, that bush will bloom when the ground is warm enough.”

Dewberry said the current plan is to put away all of the winter supplies away during the first week of March but will have them ready in case of any winter weather. 

“The biggest thing right now is anticipating our customers’ needs,” he said, “As we pull back the ice melt and the shovels, we’re also gonna put them on pallets and rolling carts so if we do get a storm we can wheel them back out here,” he said.

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