We are happy to announce we are once again taking wholesale orders. Our current inventory is available online, along with items that will arrive shortly.
Our hiatus is over, and we have over 70,000 cases of fireworks available for sale. After another record year, fireworks inventories around the country have been depleted. We accept fireworks containers year-round, and have received dozens of containers since the 4th of July. Even more fireworks are on boats, trucks, and trains heading to our warehouse.
Stock up now while our inventory is plentiful. Supply chain issues continue to plague the industry, with most wholesalers forecasting product shortages for New Year’s season and Spring 2022. Costs have been rising at unprecedented rates, but we are locking in our current pricing through September 1st.
To help you make the most of the situation, we are offering 20% off shipping through October 1st. This offer is good for all customers and all price levels. We will also open Special Order (our lowest wholesale prices) back up for orders over $10,000. To secure any order we do require a 50% deposit that must be paid within 14 calendar days of purchase (with the remainder due prior to shipping).
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your account representative directly. As always, you may also call us at 573-447-1776 or email [email protected].
Shipping woes continue to plague supply chains worldwide – including the fireworks industry.
Supply chain issues have hampered US industries in 2020 and all through 2021. We reported earlier in Sept 2020, Dec 2020, May, and June about rising freight costs, supply chain issues, exchange rate uncertainty, and more.
Despite multiple parties pushing for change, including efforts by the National Fireworks Association, supply chain issues persist. We were recently made aware of another increase in ocean freight. This price increase went into effect on July 16th, bringing the total cost of delivering a fireworks container to over $30,000 for most locations in the Midwest. This price is over double the cost of early 2020.
We are opening up wholesale sales on Monday, July 26. Like most wholesalers, we sold out of fireworks leading up to the 4th of July. This means that the fireworks we have to sell have just arrived from China, or are still on the way and have incurred these massive costs.
We are keeping our prices as low as possible. To that end, our pricing will be valid from July 26 – September 1st. Due to the frequent and numerous increases in freight costs, we cannot guarantee these prices beyond that date. We hope that freight costs will stabilize so we can maintain these prices for as long as possible.
We are offering 20% off shipping through Oct. 1. We know many fireworks buyers are eager to restock and expect record sales again for August. We encourage you to take advantage of our shipping discount to get the best possible deal when reloading your fireworks cache.
Check back often as we will continue to provide updates and let you know pertinent information that may impact our industry.
Why Firework Retailers are Already Ordering Containers for 2022
July 12, 2021
Firework businesses are saving money and getting ahead of continued firework shortages by ordering containers of fireworks directly from China.
JULY 2021 – As Spirit of ‘76 has been communicating since September 2020, there was a national shortage of fireworks in the United States this 4th of July season. This shortage may very well carry into the New Year’s and 2022 Independence Day seasons as well.
Many retail firework businesses are already making plans to receive fireworks for the 2022 4th of July season by ordering a container of fireworks through Spirit of ‘76 – not only to ensure they get the products they want, but also to get the absolute lowest wholesale pricing possible.
“I think if you do a big enough volume in sales, a container’s a good way to go,” said Trinity Muth, who operates T&M Fireworks in Newton, KS. “In general, [ordering a container] is the right way to increase profit margins.”
Trinity said he began importing containers a few years ago, and despite 2021 shortages, he’s received all three of the containers he ordered through Spirit of ‘76 this year. He said other wholesalers he ordered from this year weren’t able to follow through on all of the containers they promised him.
Firework retailers are increasingly recognizing that importing containers creates a phenomenal opportunity to grow their business. Gene Marlow, owner of multiple Mean Gene Fireworks locations in southeast Washington state, has been importing firework containers for close to 10 years through Spirit of ‘76. He said his store has built up local credibility for saving customers money on their fireworks.
“It’s a competitive business, and you’ve gotta buy right,” Gene said. “Our business has been growing every year, and that’s because we buy at container pricing. It allows us to offer promotions and pass the savings on to our customers, and they come back every year and bring their friends.”
Additionally, firework retailers across the U.S. are choosing to import fireworks containers to keep up with their competition and to uphold their reputation for carrying high-quality products.
“Buying fireworks by the container is essential if you need to compete on price,” said Erik Siembab, who operates B&E Fireworks in various locations and Cedar Point Fireworks in Illinois. “Spirit of ‘76 makes the container buying process easy.”
“The first couple of years we honestly wouldn’t have been ready, but ultimately after about 2-3 years we decided we were ready [to order a container],” Trinity Muth said. “The biggest reason was that we were bringing in quality products with ‘76 and we’ve built a reputation in our community for our high quality fireworks. So, we took the opportunity to start ordering in larger quantities.”
Similarly, Gene Marlow said he ordered a container of Sky Bacon Fireworks, a brand he felt offers great performance and value, to add variety to the limited firework brand selection in Washington state.
Gene recommends purchasing a container simply because it makes sense financially. “Figure out how to buy a container even if you buy it with multiple people,” he said. “It’s pure economics: if you can buy it cheaper, the more competitive you can be and the more money you’re gonna make. So, order a container and order it early!”
Purchasing firework containers isn’t anything new. Retailers have plenty of options for firework wholesalers, but both Gene and Trinity said they have good reason to continue ordering their containers through Spirit of ‘76. Gene said excellent customer service, a variety of desirable products, competitive pricing, and in-house brands are what keeps Mean Gene Fireworks coming back to Spirit of ‘76. Similarly, the team at T&M Fireworks appreciates the reliability of communication, and Trinity feels like his ‘76 sales rep has his best interests in mind.
“Spirit of ‘76 has been very reliable as far as communications,” Trinity said. “Other wholesalers seem to have taken care of themselves first, not the little guys like ourselves. The staff at Spirit has been wonderful, the sales reps are upfront and honest, and all in all it’s a great company to work with. We’ll be doing even more business with them next year.”
Spirit of ‘76 is now taking orders for containers in 2022. Learn more about the ‘76 Container Program or request pricing at 76fireworks.com/container .
Spirit of ‘76 Fireworks will be placing a temporary hiatus on customer ordering and shipping from July 5 – July 25 .
After the 4th of July, we will be pausing wholesale orders and shipments through July 25th. This will allow us some time to accumulate some products, double check inventory and get ready for a busy fall receiving and shipping schedule. On July 26th, we will be releasing our updated price and available stock lists and anticipate that our operations will be business as usual for the remainder of the year.
Our sales team will be available during this time, but if you want any fireworks delivered immediately after July 4th, they will need to leave our warehouse by noon, Sunday July 4th .
We will also be accepting orders for drop-ship containers for Brothers, Winda & Bright Star, Sky Bacon, and Supreme brands right after the 4th of July.
Industry Update
In our last update on May 14 we let you know that a new shipping general rate increase (GRI) of $2800 per container was put in place for all containers departing China for the West Coast after May 15th. At that time, we pledged to keep our prices the same through July 4th, and we did. Unfortunately, the shipping news coming from China isn’t getting better. We have learned of two additional GRIs: (1) $3000 for containers departing June 15th or later and (2) $1500 for containers departing July 1st or later. We have also heard rumors that we should expect another GRI later in July and there could be more this Fall. All-in-all the freight costs have increased by over $16,700 per container since last Fall . As a result of the rising freight fees it will be necessary for us to increase our prices after the 4th of July. Our new costs will be reflected in the price lists released on July 26th.
We believe that the industry should expect more of the same issues we faced this year to continue. Namely, product shortages, exchange rate fluctuations, and shipping issues. After a historic 2021 New Years and Independence Day, we understand that there will be substantial product shortages, putting more stress on the Chinese suppliers to make and ship more consumer fireworks to the US. With some factories having a full production schedule already and the shutdown of most factories until September 1st as a result of elongated heat ban and Chinese government celebrations, this will be especially challenging. In regard to the shipping issue, we have heard that it will take at least another year to turn around the global shipping mess and return things back to pre-COVID operations. Finally, the exchange rates continue to fluctuate and some reports have indicated that the dollar will continue to weaken against the Chinese RMB this winter. To help alleviate some of these issues, we have already placed our 2022 orders and we are working with our suppliers to expedite both production and shipping.
We encourage you to remain informed on the status of these issues as they may impact your purchasing decisions. The best way to insure you have product for your shelves this New Years and next July 4th is to purchase the product as it becomes available. We will keep our website up-to-date with things that we have ordered that are either in stock or that have shipped from China. You are of course welcome to reach out to your salesperson for more information. For our Drop Ship customers, the earlier you order the better fulfillment likelihood. We encourage all Drop Ship customers to submit their order by July 31st .
We appreciate your business and look forward to continuing to be your solution for your consumer fireworks needs.
