Going Down

Well, here we are at the start of a new week.  Temps were 37 (F) this morning when I rolled out of bed.  They're going to fall.  This afternoon a blustery cold front is going to blow into the area.  Tomorrow's high is expected to be in the low 30s (F), but only for a day.  Things are going to warm up, though our highs will not be in the 40s (F).

Yesterday was spent at the store.  I got a measure.  As a Christmas present, a customer is having carpet installed installed in her daughter's house.  This is a very nice gesture.  The install is happening at a slow time of year, which will make management happy.

Otherwise the day was slow.  I got my steps in.  Made some notes on the book.  I tend to do that a lot when there are no customers in the store.  Details of the plot advance.  Lines of dialog get written.  Bobby Tussel, the ex- Baltimore police officer with the bullet in his brain, has a number of unfiltered lines.  He still guzzles beer, but since Anchor beer went out of business, he now brews his own at his very own micro-brewery.  His most popular brew is none other than Hunky Donkey Draft, so named because when runs on a treadmill at his local gym, things tend to go flippy floppy in a big way.

And since I don't want to post an proprietary information on the retail market, I'll use our competitor.  This is what Orangie's economy is doing to the home improvement industry.

That's right, many people are not considering home improvements at this time, though if you commit to one right now you might be getting a deal since prices are only going to go up.  I share some info with my brother and he asked what I thought was causing this, my response was the tariffs.  Prices go up, purchasing comes down.  Our store did beat plan when Biden was in office, but beginning in January last year the bottom began to fall out.  People are very wary right now.

Lowes usually employs around 300,000 but recent reports indicate that number has dropped to 270,000, that's a lot of people losing jobs, and that figure doesn't include the number of hours that are being taken away from part-time associates.  Orangie's tariffs are having a snowball effect on the economy and things are not going to improve any time soon.  

Best Buy is hitting their sales plan, but those people purchasing new electronics, laptops and tablets, appear to be replacing items they purchased during the pandemic.  Translation:  that stability and minor growth is temporary.  These people are not going to go out and buy another new laptop or tablet next year.  In fact, as hours continue to get cut, they are going to hold on to the one they have, at least until the economy begins to improve.