Retailers race to keep kayaks and TVs in stock

Large retail chains such as Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc.

DKS 0.32%

and Best Buy Co.

BBY 1.96%

say they are rushing to have enough products to sell in their stores this year amid growing U.S. consumer demand for products ranging from fitness equipment to televisions.

The situation is a sharp turn from the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic a year ago, when many retail executives worried aloud about whether shoppers would ever return to their stores. Businesses have turned to e-commerce and added curbside services. But this spring, as vaccines roll out, households receive stimulus funds and restrictions are lifted, people are shopping in stores again.

The expense adds to inventory challenges that surfaced last year when shoppers rushed to purchase items such as toilet paper and bicycles. Now, purchasing teams are faced with a range of items in demand as well as pandemic pressure on supply chains. They risk losing sales because consumers have historic levels of money to spend.

“It touches almost every aspect of the business, so we’re always on the hunt. We are chasing everything. But we’re really, really good at it, ”Lauren Hobart, managing director of Dick’s Sporting Goods, said this week of researching certain products. Executives highlighted supply constraints for some products, and in March said the company had pushed for fitness items, kayaks, golf equipment and sportswear.

In-store sales, year-over-year growth

Specialty Foods and Beverages

Travel and transportation

In-store sales, year-over-year growth

Specialty Foods and Beverages

Travel and transportation

In-store sales, year-over-year growth

Specialty Foods and Beverages

Travel and transportation

In-store sales, year-over-year growth

Travel and

transport

Dick’s said sales in the quarter ended May 1 more than doubled from a year ago, when stores temporarily closed, and jumped 52% from the same period in 2019. Ms Hobart said team sports are making a strong comeback while golf, fitness and outdoor products are also in high demand.

Best Buy chief executive Corie Barry said on Thursday that unprecedented demand and production disruptions have made it more difficult to purchase items such as major appliances and televisions. Still, comparable sales rose 37% in the company’s quarter that ended earlier this month, as it worked to address supply chain challenges and collaborated with suppliers to take inventory.

Assuming demand remains on the rise, the company expects “some level of inventory constraints likely in pockets throughout the year,” Ms. Barry said.

At the Dollar General discount Corp.

DG 2.93%

, the out-of-stock levels for some products were higher than the company wants to see, CFO John Garratt said. Burlington Stores Inc.

BURL -1.63%

Executives said the clothing chain had experienced delays related to the imported products it was selling.

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Total U.S. spending on stores, restaurants, and online jumped 10.7% to about $ 620 billion in March from February 2021 and remained at that level in April, according to data from the Commerce Department. This means Americans spent more than an additional $ 100 billion each month compared to March and April 2019, when the U.S. economy was booming and unemployment was near historic lows.

Supply chains, however, have been strained by the pandemic as well as the shortage of shipping containers and delays at some California ports that handle cargo from Asia. Transportation costs have increased and trucking companies are trying to recruit more drivers to meet the increased demand.

“We are monitoring things like delays at ports and other factors in the supply chain,” John Furner, Walmart Inc. of

The US managing director said earlier this month. He cited adult bikes and some consumer electronics as product areas where the retailer is always striving to source better.

“Companies have reported varying levels of inventory constraints, with almost all of the companies we spoke to hinting at a mismatch between supply and demand,” said Simeon Siegel, retail analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

This resulted in fewer discounts and a lean inventory at the companies Mr. Siegel tracked. There were 25% fewer items on sale in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period a year ago, while inventories were on average 4% lower than last year for companies he follows that had reported profits last week. .

How will the pandemic affect US retailers? As states across the country struggle to get back to business, the WSJ is studying the changing retail landscape and how consumers might shop in a post-pandemic world.

Some chains say they buy less on purpose.

“One of the biggest things we learned from Covid was the balance between supply and demand and the fact that you can have a strong, profitable business with less inventory,” Fran Horowitz, Managing Director of ” Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

, said on Wednesday, after the company said net sales jumped 61% from a year ago. “Hunting for goods is now part of our activities.”

American Eagle Outfitters Inc.

AEO -0.26%

saw longer transit times to get inbound goods, but believes there will be clean transport flows for the summer and back-to-school shopping season, COO Michael Rempell said Wednesday.

“We don’t anticipate that delays… will be a problem for us,” he said.

—Sarah Nassauer contributed to this article.

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