Was the heat wave more beneficial to retailers than suppliers?

The recent heat wave that has plagued Adelaide, Victoria and Sydney over the past few weeks saw a rapid increase in the purchase of cooling products like fans and air conditioners, in a lot of cases retailers sold out of many products, but was it too late in the season to benefit the suppliers?

Peter Taylor, retail sales manager, air conditioning at Mitsubishi Electric, commented that whilst demand did improve over the last few weeks, they coped relatively well with the demand.

“Despite the record temperatures, this season ended up being a bit slower than previous years, because the heat wave hit so late in the season,” he said.

The recent heat wave certainly did hit very quickly and because of this the consumers were not prepared for how hot it would actually get. Therefore consumers were after a quick fix, opting for fans and portable air conditioners that would provide immediate results.

“Because we specialise in split systems, some people had to wait three to four weeks for installation, and this turned some customers away,” commented Taylor.

“But in saying that a lot of people had in the back of their minds that winter is only just around the corner, and therefore opted for a split system, which is much more beneficial in the long run.”

Taylor also added that he thought the retailers would have benefited a lot more than the suppliers over the period.

“Because retailers purchase their stock in advance, often in September and October, the heat wave enabled them to sell all of the stock in their warehouse,” he said.

But overall Taylor commented that Mitsubishi Electric had a relatively good season, and the heat wave certainly did prove beneficial for both the retailers and suppliers, and helped the category get a much needed boost for the season.