What is the cause of the dramatic drop in fireworks sales for this years fourth of July?
Fireworks retailers in Central Wisconsin are seeing a drop in their sales this year for fireworks, a drop many attribute to the poor economy. Jerry Bamke, owner of Fireworks Country in Wittenberg, said his customers have been scaling back on their fireworks purchases, and many are complaining that they can’t spend as much this year because money is tight. “We have more people coming in, but they are spending less,” Bamke said. “My customers have all mentioned that they have to cut back this year.” Derrick Sukow, manager of Fireworks Depot just south of Merrill off of Highway 51, said both his sales and traffic are down from past years. Even the big spending customers, he said, are walking in upset because they can’t afford to purchase an abundance of fireworks. “It’s been hard to work with them to get them excited,” Sukow said. “Our customers are upset, and some were even depressed. I’ve been seeing a lot more of that (attitude) now.” Sources:
Fireworks vendors in Southwest Florida are reporting fewer customers and slower sales than in years past. “We sell products from 35 cents upwards, so purchasing fireworks doesn’t necessarily have to be that expensive,” said Connie Dickson, co-owner of Liberty Sparklers, which operates the only two fireworks stands in Collier County this year. The Liberty Sparklers stands are on U.S. 41, east of Airport-Pulling Road, and near the intersection of Golden Gate Parkway and Collier Boulevard. Because of the recession, Dickson and her business partner, Don Bishop, who has been in the fireworks business for 20 years, opened their stands a week earlier this year. “Business is really slow,” Dickson said Wednesday. “It’s picked up the last couple days, but being in the fireworks business, you kind of know you’re going to go crazy the last two or three days. So you just put up the tent, do your time, show that you’re here, and then everybody eventually comes.”
