With the Capitol in the background, snowball fighters attack each other with snow on the National Mall in Washington on Monday. Because of the winter weather some companies are reporting record earnings over the last few months.NEW YORK – The harsh winter has been rough for some businesses, but for a lucky few, the frigid weather means more cold, hard cash.
Ace Hardware is having its best winter in more than a decade for snow blower and shovel sales. Waterproof boots are on a long backorder at clothing maker L.L. Bean. And more people are staying home and ordering gooey grilled cheese sandwiches and booze from Delivery.com.
“The concept of a polar vortex doesn’t feel good, but it’s good for business,” said Kane Calamari, a vice president at Ace Hardware Corp.
Much of the country has been in a deep freeze. Only 32 winters have been colder in the last 119 years, according to Jake Crouch, a climate scientist at the National Climatic Data Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration.
With more Americans stuck indoors, customers are ordering up more meals and arranging to have their laundry picked up through Delivery.com’s website and smartphone app. Sales at the company, which operates in major metro areas such as New York, Chicago and Washington D.C., rose 30 percent in January and February compared with the year before. Orders for soups, wine and vodka have spiked.