Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 13, 1994 TAG: 9407140102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MELISSA CURTIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Retailers said the demand for air conditioners this summer has exceeded the supply, leaving customers out in the heat.
"This is the first time in 12 years of back-to-back summers of heavy heat," said Dennis Goodman, store manager of Holdren's Inc. on Valley View Boulevard in Roanoke. "The manufacturers have not been able to keep up."
Other store owners also cited last summer as part of the reason for the air-conditioner shortage.
Bob Ward, owner of Ward's on Grandin Road in Roanoke, said he bought fewer units this year because of last year's high sales.
"I bought light this year because I thought everyone bought air conditioners last year," said Ward, who sold out of units last week. "We just didn't buy heavy enough."
Store owners say buying a high number of units is risky.
"If you buy heavy and you have a cool summer, you have to carry a lot of air-conditioning units over to the next year," Ward said. "I'd rather buy light."
But with this summer's heat, buying light was not a wise choice.
Roy Haley, a sales associate in the appliance department at Lowe's in Christiansburg, said sales of air conditioners at his store are up 50 percent from last summer. Now he has only a few units left, although he has ordered another shipment.
"It's real slim. We couldn't guarantee a customer anything right now," Haley said.
Many retailers said part of the problem is a lack of parts. Bob Dillard, owner of Southwest TV & Appliance Co. on Brambleton Avenue in Roanoke, said manufacturers have a shortage of compressors, the cooling boxes inside air conditioners.
There are still a few stores with units left for sale. Bill Pyles, owner of Appliance Outlet on Hershberger Road in Roanoke, said he still has a good selection on hand. But Pyles, who just ordered another shipment, said he cleaned out the warehouse.
"I don't know of any warehouse that still has units," said Pyles, who has sold 300 to 400 air conditioners since May. "There's just none to be had anywhere."
Goodman said Holdren's still has a reasonable number of air conditioners left, particularly the larger- and smaller-capacity units, and he will receive a shipment of 50 to 75 more in the middle-capacity range at the end of the month.
The average cost of an air conditioner with the capacity to cool one room is about $240.
Dennis Maddy, sales associate in the Sears Roebuck and Co. appliance department at Valley View Mall, said his store sold all the units it had - about 100 - within two weeks in May and will not be able to order any more from the manufacturers.
"The heat came out real quick and the manufacturers just weren't prepared," Maddy said. "They made the same amount [of units] as last year, but we sold out last year."
But with the end of the heat wave in sight, consumers just may survive the air-conditioner shortage .
Goodman said the rush for air conditioners usually takes place between June 1 and July 4, and then sales begin to taper off.
"Around this time people say, `I've suffered this far, I can make it until September,''' he said.
by CNB