West of Mpls MN about 50 miles on Hwy 12 | Reads like things are a little slow in MN lake country this winter. Could one reason be because of the lack of snow and ice on MN lakes? The older I get, the less I enjoy MN winters, but I do feel bad for MN businesses that rely on snow and cold for income this winter. On the flip side, the mild MN winter has allowed for some MN residents (especially those working construction) to keep working more days and spend less on heat, snow removal, and all of the other added expense required to survive a MN winter ...that's not a bad thing.
There are still plenty of help wanted signs not too far to the East of where you live. If people are being laid off this winter in your neighborhood tell them to head East...they'll be employed today.
It's about time inventory starts to get back to what it was before the pandemic so we see a few sales/discounts/attractive manufacture finance options and don't have to pay MSRP....or more for everything.
We spent a couple hours at the Ridgedale mall in Wayzata after a meeting last week. I was surprised at the number of people walking around spending money...on a Thursday afternoon. Same situation at Cross Roads mall and several other retailers in St. Cloud on Saturday afternoon. St Cloud was really busy. Any restaurant worth eating at was wait in line to be seated.
The only vehicle/toys we have seen suffer a decline in sales at our deputy Registrar offices so far this winter is snowmobiles and heavy towable ice/fish houses. Snowmobile sales are down an estimated 30%, which is no surprise with our lack of winter...and the stupid amount of money manufactures are asking for new sleds. And with well above average temps and little snow forecast for the foreseeable future in MN, (we have a chance of rain this week) there will be no rebound in snowmobile and ice/fish house sales this winter...there will be end of season deals offered.
ATV/UTV sales are still good. The people with disposable income have moved on from winter toys and their attention has now turned towards new/used motorcycles, campers, and boats...time will tell if sales slow down for those items. |
1986?
