BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Beth Azor owns several retail centers. She said supply chain issues and staff shortages resulted in “a perfect storm” this Black Friday.
Azor, a retail consultant, said most of the shortages are related to electronics. The global chip shortage affected the supply of some video game consoles and laptops.
“Go early and shop local because I think a lot of times the local retailers have products and we forget about them and we go to the big names,” Azor said.
Brandsmart US expects long lines outside of South Florida stores starting Thursday. Bobby Johnson, the chief operating officer of Brandsmart US, said he is confident about the supply.
“Let’s say they want Samsung, for example, we got a lot of Samsung. If they want Whirlpool, they may have to wait a little bit. It depends on the brand, the exact specifications,” Johnson said.
Johnson said staffing was up and new employees were still going through orientation on Tuesday.
“It was a nailbiter,” Johnson said. “Our people did a really good job of looking everywhere for people.”