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Fan shortage Cooling devices selling like hotcakes
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Friday, June 28, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknifers sweating through the city's first heat wave of the year may struggle to find some fans to help them cool off, according to retailers.
Kenneth Harrison, 20, lets cooler heads prevail in a dispute over the last fan at Yellowknife's Canadian Tire on Monday. - Daniel Campbell/NNSL photo |
Stores throughout Yellowknife sold out of cooling fans this week after temperatures soared to near 30 C, with only Wal-Mart restocking its shelves on Wednesday.
Amy Nielson, assistant manager at Wal-Mart, said all the store's fans were gone by Monday, but they were able to restock by Wednesday.
"We had a lot of customers coming in and asking for them," Nielson said. "We weren't expecting this hot of a heat wave, it's nice to see them arrive."
Nielson said the store has bumped its truck delivery from every second day to daily to deal with the demand.
Other stores across town are feeling the heat from customers as well. Staples, Home Hardware and Canadian Tire all sold out of blowers this week.
Kenneth Harrison, a warehouse manager for Buffalo Airways, said he was able to snag Canadian Tire's last cooling fan on Monday.
"There were a dozen people there and two fans," Harrison said. "Me and another guy were there from the start and I guess I had the last one first, so he gave it to me."
"Everyone was choked, they all wish they had it."
Harrison said people were asking where else to buy fans in the city. There were rumours Staples had some left.
Mike Lalonde, sales manager at Staples, said his store went through all 20 basic desk rotating fans the store had in stock by Tuesday night.
"I think we're kinda the last place people look, but we've had a lot of requests for sure," Lalonde said.
Richard Kresky, general manager at Yellowknife's Canadian Tire, said he's not surprised at the lack of fans in town.
"It's inevitable, this happens every year."
Kresky said they tried to stockpile more fans than last year, but even that didn't hold out.
"It's nature, you can't predict it," he said. Kresky thinks they'll have some more shipped in later next week.
Jeff Waddell, assistant store manager at Home Hardware in Yellowknife, said they expect to restock its fans next week. The store also sold out of air conditioners, after selling nine in one day.
"Everytime we get the big heat spell everyone in town is looking for as many as they can get their hands on. We usually run out within a few days," Waddell said.
The hot, sunny weather in Yellowknife is expected to continue well into next week, according to Environment Canada, with temperatures reaching above 30 C. Temperatures in the city were as much as 10 C above the seasonal norms this week, according to Environment Canada's website.
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