Buffalo, NY (WBEN) As we get closer to America 250, owners of stores selling American flags are seeing them fly off the shelves as folks want to fly them on July 4th.
"Demand has been intense this year,," says Philip Kauppinen of Grand New Flag in Newfane, especially for commemorative Betsy Ross 250 flags, which are embroidered stars with the 13 stars in the circle, and in the middle has 1776 2026, celebrating the 250 years. "I would say double or triple the business, very high demand, and I'm actually having difficulty getting flags in from my manufacturing partners in Illinois," explains Kauppinen. He says folks are coming in to get one or two at a time.
But that's not all. "I'm seeing demand for bunting and fans that you hang on your house, beverage koozies like 12 ounce can koozies for the 250 and just in general, your Americana American flags, and everybody's looking for American made, they don't want stuff made overseas," notes Kauppinen. He says buying a US flag made in America is the only way to go if you really love the country. "The quality is very noticeable: embroidered stars, sewn on stripes, brilliant colors, the red, white, and blue, and people are really looking for American-made to support American workers," he adds.
Demand for American flags is also high at Valu Home Centers. "We've got a ton of stock of flag kits of 250 flags of all various sizes," says Ryan Meissner. That's not all that's in demand. "We've got spinners, we're pretty stocked up and ready to go, and everybody's kind of getting excited to celebrate and, and showing their, their pride out on the front yard."
Good luck finding flags from other teams competing in the World Cup, however. "We talked about bringing in some, some stuff for the World Cup, obviously going on right now, but our main focus is has been the semi quincentennial," explains Meissner.
Customers are getting ready for America 250
Customers are getting ready for America 250
