A small business owner whose popular kitchen products can be found online at Amazon, Target and Walmart may be forced to sell her business if the dire supply chain issues persist.
Susan Castriota is owner of Cucina Safe, which is known for the wineware featuring the glass Cuchina Safe Microwave Plate Cover and Glass Cover n Cook Glass Lid and Cover.
Castriota, like other major corporations, is dealing with shipment delays and increased manufacturing costs, which have significantly hindered her ability to sell during pivotal seasons.
The issues for Castriota and her business began when the first pandemic hit, she told FOX Business.
The first blow comes when he says Amazon shut down essential products so they could focus only on the essentials. She then had to make up for weeks of lost sales after they stopped selling Cuchina cookware for over a month.
Then, in June 2020, Castriota ordered products from her manufacturer in China which were supposed to arrive around September or October for the holiday shopping season - one of the most important quarters for retailers.
It never arrived, but it was never known.
The containers were late and that product did not come in until 2021, Castriota said. So my fourth quarter is missing for the most important reason. It has been a recurring issue for her.
She placed another order in March 2021, but not before recently the product came in, which meant she missed out on the entire third quarter.
I have product, but it was product that I didn't get to sell in the third quarter, she said. I'm trying to make up for two quarters. In fact, Castriota said she went on pins and needles over a month wondering if she would even get the product in time for this holiday season.
On top of that, she said that the container prices have increased 300% and that's not even account for factory price. She is also facing a 27% rise in the unit price to manufacture her products.
It blows me away. And for now my profit margin is 20% lower, she said.
As a small business owner she said she has to worry about many other people that depend on her.
I still have to pay my bills, my insurance and everything else, as well as my warehouse fees, said she. If it continues like this to 2022, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do it. Castriota said that she will either sold the business or try and shut down it to a bigger entity that has more capital.
I'm just a small business when something like this gets hit, it's a major in a small business, she added.