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Real Estate News Releases
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(EstateNewsWire.com, November 12, 2012 ) Naples, Florida -- The mega-storm Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on sizeable parts of the northeast, but it also proved a windfall for well-prepared home-improvement online retailers.
By the time the huge storm made landfall in southern New Jersey on Friday evening, online retailer Power Equipment Direct had already recorded record-level sales for the day. CEO Jon Hoch noted the company’s nine websites providing generators, chain saws, sump pumps and other gear handy for coping with storm damage found that the Friday the storm hit was “the busiest day in our 10-year history.” Sales were also brisk sales the following weekend, with the company’s call-waiting queue stacking would-be buyers 20 deep at times.
Hoch added the company was rapidly depleting its inventory of portable generators, which were being shipped “rush order processing only.” With most shipments being sent from its Chicago-area fulfillment hub, Power Equipment Direct said it would keep processing orders as long as FedEx, UPS and its other carriers were able to make deliveries. CEO Hoch advised customers unable to get a home-delivery guarantee from a freight shipper to consider picking up their order at the carrier’s location, rather than waiting for the shipper’s backlog to clear up.
Major home-improvement retailers’ ecommerce sites were reported to be functioning well; the largest companies said they did not have major e-commerce infrastructure in the storm-damaged areas. Besides generators, online vendors reported seeing heavy volumes of orders for batteries, flashlights, water, extension cords, sump and utility pumps, gas cans, duct tape and other storm-related items. Areas expecting snow in the storm’s aftermath were ordering items like snow throwers, snow shovels, and chemical ice-melting products.
While e-commerce sites generally coped well with the storm, it did cause some to adopt new restrictions. Lowe’s stopped taking orders for portable generators, and in storm-affected parts of New Jersey and New York, Home Depot temporarily discontinued its option for online buyers to pick up their purchases at a nearby store.
Both those leading home center chains and building maintenance equipment and supplies provider W.W. Grainger noted they routinely pre-position large stocks of disaster preparation and clean-up in their distribution centers to meet demand. E-commerce sites also posted advice and safety tips, discussing such topics as how to run a generator, board up windows, protect roofs with tarps and use chainsaws safely.
Home-improvement retailers also contributed in other ways to dealing with the huge storm’s aftermath. The charitable arms of the Home Depot and Lowe’s each announced it would donate $1 million to storm-related relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts.
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TarpaFlex.com (http://www.tarpaflex.com) offers a comprehensive range of high quality tarps with online convenience, factory-direct low prices and speedy shipping. Whether anyone needs a covering to protect a boat or motorcycle kept outdoors, a sunshade for the beach or a barbeque party, or a tarp to protect during construction or when a natural disaster threatens, Tarpaflex can meet all their needs. It also carries a full line of tarp accessories.
Tarpaflex US Llc.
Customer Service
239-643-0877
news@postpressrelease.com
Source: EmailWire.Com 
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