Heidi Pudwell, owner of BumbleBoo in Medicine Hat says Supply Chain shortages have impacted her store and what is available. She's thankful she ordered early for Christmas (Tiffany Goodwein/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Supply chain issues impacting businesses big and small in Medicine Hat

Dec 3, 2021 | 5:55 PM

As the Christmas trees go up, so too does the need to find those perfect gifts go to under the tree

But retailers in the city say finding those perfect gift may be more challenging.

That’s because supply shortages have been hitting some stores hard. Heidi Pudwell is the owner of Bumbleboo, a children’s boutique.

“We are seeing some toy shortages, so they trickle in here and there. Car seats are a real issue lately which really worries us,” she said.

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A simple car seat can take at least six weeks to arrive in store, and Pudwell said it can be tough to ensure enough stock for customers.

“ I think the backlog now in shipping is worse than it ever has been for us. The lede times are really, really tough. We are having to see in the future months and months in advance where we were not really before. We could do an order, and have it within three weeks,” she said.

And it is not just the small stores seeing the impacts. Weddingstar is also dealing with its share of supply chain woes. Earlier on in the pandemic, the company pivoted from making wedding supplies to masks and CEO Rick Brink said right now one of their biggest challenges is the cost of shipping. Brink said what once cost them $5000 for a shipping container is now costing them over $15,000.

“Those costs have to be passed on to the consumer, and we have had to do some price increases to cover some of those costs,” Brink said.

The B.C floods have also had an impact on shipping. Brink said Weddingstar currently has a 40-foot container waiting at the Port of Vancouver. What used to cost the company $1500 to get the goods delivered to Medicine Hat, is now costing them $5000 due to the backlog. The flooded roadways mean goods can’t get through quickly, so companies like Brink’s have to make a choice.

“We either pay a $500 a day storage fee because we are only allowed to keep the containers in the yard for so long or we have it shipped out and the quote we have is $11,000 to get that container here so when you go from a $1500 cost to an $11,000 cost, it adds costs to the product and those costs have to be added onto the selling price and unfortunately it is the consumer that is going to get hit.”

But for some businesses, like Annie McGuire Interiors, a home decor store, they haven’t been feeling much of the impact. The store has been adapting by doing in-home visits and ordering directly from their warehouses in Montreal.

“It’s almost made us do a better job with our customers because we have able to work on a one and one basis with our customers, and find exactly what they want and bring it in as it becomes available,” said owner Allison Dreher.

But for those still worried as to whether that perfect gift will be available in time for Christmas day. Local retailers suggest, shop early, shop local. and ask people to be flexible in terms of their wish list.