It’s hard to believe that on March 1st, 2012, we transitioned from Main Street to Saranac Avenue in Lake Placid. Within the first 2 years, we doubled our gross sales from our previous location and Terry Robards slowly eased into retirement. Julie Robards began her “Sunday Wine School” continuing for another 6 years, while Tim Robinson branded the business with Social Media. We lost Kathie Moore & Baxter McTavish (the 1st; technically 3rd), but have gained 9+ years of loyal, dedicated service from April Kirschman. Rebecca Sell has joined our team within the past year and continues to bring cheerful character with passionate knowledge! JJ is learning the ropes on the AM shift and we thank all the other employees (and Dogs) that have made their impression on our small business throughout the years!
Since Covid-19 (on Monday, March 16th, 2020) our small corner of Lake Placid has seen growth beyond our wildest expectations. The pandemic shifted the way we conduct our business and every pivot has been well worth the hard work. We are excited to announce a new lease agreement with Placid Pond that will keep us here at least until 2030!
A INSIDE PERSPECTIVE ON THE INDUSTRY:
It’s in the news, media and now hitting your local shelves:
Shortages ~ Out of Stock ~ Temporarily Unavailable
This is now common language in the wine & spirits industry. We have done our very best to follow trends, stay on top of our ordering and budget, while paying attention to the items our customers love most. Unfortunately, now we are at the beginning of a new trend.
As we all know, the price of EVERYTHING is going up ~ we are starting to see (and comfortably predict) price increases for your favorite brand(s) in the very near future. This is not uncommon ~ we regularly see annual price increases, but adjust our business model to absorb this impact with minimal effect on our prices. After all, we must stay competitive with half a dozen other liquor stores in the area!
However, this week we saw our first “Misc Delivery Fee” (aka Fuel Surcharge) and we are likely to see similar charges from multiple vendors over the next few weeks. Coupled with inflation, the rise in demand and scarce availability of materials, supply chain issues, etc. Summer 2022 is more than likely going to be very expensive for all of us.
HOW WE ARE PREPARING???
As you may or may not know, we offer an in-store 10% Local Wine Discount, all day, everyday! In April, 2020 we implemented a “6PM Spirits Special” for 8% off ALL Spirits in the store after 6PM ~ Sticker Price. These discount programs ARE NOT going away - they’re just getting a performance review!
We are FULLY stocked for the coming months and have locked in prices on MANY different brands, in bulk! However, in preparation for the Summer months, and to adjust for all the costs of staying in business, we will slowly adjust our prices upon the next reorder of each product. We are taking these steps now, as a proactive way of being 100% transparent with our valued customers!
The month of April has ALWAYS been “Customer Appreciation Month” at TRW&S. Effective immediately, we are implementing an ALL DAY 10% in-store Wine Discount AND 8% Spirits Discount for ALL of our customers thru the end of April, 2022!
As mentioned, there is PLENTY of inventory and locked in pricing that will last for the next few weeks. We sincerely appreciate all of the support, encouragement and understanding as we navigate this very unpredictable economic environment.
Looking forward to more Blog posts! :)