Every year, Canal Towne Emporium in Wurtsboro is transformed into a 'Christmas Shoppe,' full of holiday décor. But international supply chain issues have dealt them some setbacks this year.
"I was really nervous a few weeks ago. I said, 'I don’t know what we're gonna do if we don’t get this merchandise,'" store owner Lyman Holmes said.
With western ports seeing record cargo traffic this fall, ships bringing goods from abroad are waiting longer at port, which means delays in getting goods to stores like the emporium.
"Many things I order in January and February, and they're usually here by early summer, " said Holmes. "Many of it, I have not yet received."
What You Need To Know
- Western shipping ports are seeing record cargo traffic this fall, and ships bringing goods from abroad are waiting longer at port, resulting in delays in getting goods to stores
- Lyman Holmes' family has run Canal Towne Emporium for 45 years
- Canal Towne Emporium will be fully transformed into a Christmas Shoppe by mid-November
Holmes' family has run the shop for 45 years, bringing Christmas cheer to everyone who visits.
"It's really quite magical. I've had people say they couldn’t get into the Christmas mood and they knew if they came here, that would change it, and it does. It really makes people happy to come here at Christmas time," said Holmes.
Normally this time of year, the shelves of their warehouse would be full of Christmas decorations, but some of them lay bare.
"This is one area that normally is full of merchandise, most likely it's water globes, and you can see what we've got, and it's not much," said Holmes pointing around his warehouse.
Thankfully, they’ve received a trickle of products in the last few weeks. It'll tide them over for now, but there's still so much that hasn’t come in yet.
"Normally, I would have it before the summer season starts because I like to have this store, the Christmas Shoppe, open pretty much stocked by then, but this year, we've got very, very little," said Holmes.
This year, to make sure they’re stocked up in time for the holiday rush, they’ve purchased more American-made goods to avoid delays in international shipping.
Lyman says even if he doesn’t get all the decorations he ordered in time, the store will once again be transformed into a winter wonderland come mid-November.
"It might not be as complete as we'd like it to be, but we will have Christmas here again."
