North Hills businesses grapple with supply chain issues as holidays approach

From toys to tires, local business owners are having issues with inventory coming in slower than usual.

While they say it’s been a problem for months, for some it’s more noticeable now that the holiday shopping season is here.

“It’s been a big problem,” said Julie Tsounos, owner of the Learning Express toy and gift shop in Wexford. “We are getting only 50 percent of what we are supposed to get in for the holidays.”

Her recommendation?

“Shop early.”

Though more orders are starting to arrive, she said, hot items are in short supply and go fast. So, customers, don’t hesitate.

“If they see something they think they are going to want, buy it.”

Tsounos said she ordered everything early in anticipation of the shipping slump and stockpiled items throughout the year. The store receives a lot of its inventory from throughout the United States. But sometimes, it’s the store’s vendors who are having supply issues, she said.

Vendors may have to wait on such things as the packaging coming from overseas. For example, the foil to wrap Pokemon cards is in short supply, she said.

Tsounos realized the problem also affects the underprivileged during the holidays. The right-priced gift may not be available. So she’s holding a toy drive at Learning Express on Perry Highway from now until Dec. 11. The fundraiser will benefit recipients of The Heyward House, of The Cameron Heyward Foundation.

She said toys should be new and unwrapped. They also are collecting new coats of any size. Just visit the store to drop them off.

Riverstone Books in McCandless Crossing also has had some challenges.

“I can tell you that our gift department has seen significant supply chain issues,” said Chris Zebley, Riverstone Books store manager.

Certain orders it placed “months ago” haven’t yet arrived, he said. The shop uses a lot of smaller, independent manufacturers, whether American or ethically sourced businesses overseas.

The gift department has a wide variety of items, such as candles, soaps, lotions and more.

“We’ve been doing a good job reaching out and finding other ways. We are keeping our shelves full,” he said.

When ordering they now anticipate two- to three-week deliveries opposed to the usual one to two weeks, Zebley said. But, the store been keeping in touch with its customers for any requested items.

“Almost all of our customers have been extremely understanding about delays,” Zebley said.

Renee’s Hallmark Shop off of McKnight Road in McCandless has also been hit preholiday.

Austin Snider, assistant manager there, said inventory has been arriving slower than usual, depending on the product type. However, the shop has done a good job of keeping its shelves stocked.

The shop features a vast array of gifts, plus holiday ornaments and seasonal decor. Some items expected in September are coming in December.

Snider said if the store doesn’t have something a customer wants, clerks will take customer contact information and alert the customer when the requested product arrives.

Not only are gifts at the short-end of the supply issue. The automotive industry has been hit in multiple areas, said Tom Damian, owner of the Pine Creek Pennzoil in McCandless off McKnight Road.

Supply issues were really challenging in the summer, he said, but inventory is slowly starting to come back to pace.

He said he was hit in many areas, including items that he normally wouldn’t have a problem getting. This included ordering oil or oil filters. Part of the problem was due to manufacturers closing or shutting down. In some cases, Damian was limited as to how much he could order at a time.

This caused him to buy locally to boost his inventory. This sometimes tripled his cost. Back-order on other parts were more at the dealer level, such as brakes and rotary pads, he said.

Previously, if he needed brakes, he could call a local supplier and receive what he needed that day. Now, he knows he may have to wait a little longer.

“It was pretty crazy, but it’s getting better now. It’s opening up a little more,” he said.

He said lately there may be challenges with getting snow tires, or even wiper blades. It seems that nothing is safe.

“You name it, there’s been some shortage,” he said.

Community College of Allegheny County’s Director of Purchasing Michael Cvetic said supply-chain challenges have also hit the campuses.

“At CCAC, we are seeing much longer delays in technology-related purchases. For example, laptop computers are taking several months for delivery, whereas, in the past, two or three weeks was typical. Also, in the area of construction, roofing materials are taking five to six months for delivery, and we are starting to see paper supplies tighten up, as well,” Cvetic said.

When the pandemic hit, businesses were stuck with billions of dollars in unsold goods, causing inventory-to-sales ratios to surge briefly before businesses liquidated these inventories. But, as the economy recovered and demand increased, businesses have not yet been able to bring inventories fully back to pre-pandemic levels, causing inventory-to-sales ratios to fall, according to a June blog by Susan Helper and Evan Soltas on whitehouse.gov.

Another impact of the shortages has been abrupt price increases.

The White House has established a Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to monitor and address short-term supply issues. The task force is convening meetings to identify the immediate bottlenecks as well as potential solutions, according to whitehouse.gov.