Stores hoping first snow event of year will bring big sales

MILWAUKEE -- The lack of snow this winter is not only keeping more green outdoors, it's keeping the green out of cash registers in stores that rely on the snowfall. Now, with snow in the forecast, those stores are hoping for the best.

Ski shops such as Laacke and Joy in Mequon stocked up big on winter gear this season. Some earlier national predictions forecasted record snow falls in the Midwest. But because those predictions didn't come true, you can find big sales on all winter merchandise there.

"It's affecting people's desire to go out and play in the snow because there's just none. It's hard to think about going skiing when it's still sunny and the grass is green so we've really relied on working with local ski hills for people to go out and use their manmade snow, so hopefully this weekend will change that," said Aaron Rasmussen from Laacke and Joys.
It's already happening at Neu's Hardware Store in Menomonee Falls. This, as snow blowers which have sat idle and for sale are now being put together for customers.
"Phones are ringing, calls are coming in, there are some orders coming in for two at a time," said Mike Karch of Neu's Hardware. "Shovels sales have been up, salt is going out, orders for pallets of salt. We`ve had some great activity."

Even with Thursday's predicted snow, many businesses which rely on snow items say it will be hard to catch up on the sales lost to date.