Monday - May 18, 2009

Oh yeah, and guns too, but we don’t know why

WASHINGTON — It’s not all doom and gloom in the U.S. economy. Some products are bucking the recession and flying off store shelves. Sales of chocolate and running shoes are up. Wine drinkers haven’t stopped sipping; they just seem to be choosing cheaper vintages. Gold coins are selling like hot cakes. So are gardening seeds. Tanning products are piling up in shopping carts; maybe more people are finding color in a bottle than from sun-worshipping on a faraway beach.

Strong sales of Spam, Dinty Moore stew and chili helped Hormel Foods Corp. post a 6% increase in first quarter sales in its grocery products unit.

Recession shoppers also are drawn to items that make them feel safe, both personally and financially.

“The focus on the family hearth is something that has happened in nearly every recession. It’s, ‘How can I have more fun at home?”’ said Paco Underhill, whose company, Envirosell, monitors the behavior of shoppers and sellers across the U.S. and in other countries.

“People are much more focused on their homes and their immediate happiness and they’re buying things that they can use themselves — seeds, fishing equipment. Lipstick and chocolate are small rewards that make you feel better.”

Profits in the first three months of 2009 at Hershey Co., the nation’s second-largest candy maker, surged 20% and beat Wall Street’s expectations. Kraft Foods Inc. reported double-digit growth in macaroni and cheese dinners — the consummate comfort food.

Recessions, it seems, are good for love, too. Over the final three months of 2008, condom sales rose 5% and Match.com reported its strongest performance in seven years.

... down about paragraph 21 ...

Guns are selling well, too. Total firearms sales rose 27.5% at Smith & Wesson for the three months ending Jan. 31. It’s not a sudden interest in hunting behind the increase; hunting firearm sales at the company declined during the quarter by 46%. Gun sales are being driven by concern that the Obama administration will tighten gun laws. But people also are feeling a level of fear and heightened interest in self-reliance as they weather the recession.

“They are looking down the road going ‘What could happen here?”’ Underhill said. “I think a lot of Americans are truly scared. One of the things that tickles is our pioneer ethos, which is, ‘I feel better with a year’s supply of toilet paper’ and ‘Maybe I should start canning and pickling.”’ Many people already are.

The number of home vegetable gardens is predicted to jump more than 40% this year ...

Posted by Drew458     on 05/18/2009 at 01:36 PM   
Filed Under: • Economics • Guns and Gun Control •  
• Comments (1) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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