PLAIN & SIMPLE… WE’RE HERE TO HELP!

With all of the chaos in the world today, we wanted to reach out to you this morning with a simple message: We’re here to help!

If there is anything that our team can do to make things easier for you, your staff, and/or your community over the next few days and weeks, please reach out to us.

While the next while will be difficult for everyone, we know there are some very BIG things to look forward to in 2020:

  • Spring is just around the corner, and after a long and dreary winter, people will be itching to get outside… even if it’s just within the confines of their backyard.  Backyard + Fireworks = Guaranteed Fun!
  • We’re celebrating “Manitoba 150” in our home province this summer – people will be eager to celebrate a “good news” event later in the year!  Fireworks will be in high-demand all summer long!
  • After spending a few weeks in isolated confines, people will be wanting to get out and enjoy the open road!  Just as soon as it’s safe for people to head out, we expect a HUGE demand for fireworks.  People will literally be looking to “light the fuse” on fun, hosting everything from summer get-togethers to family BBQs!

Pre-book your summer fireworks order NOW, before the rush!  Pre-booking your order has many advantages, including:

  1. Immediate shipping… when the time is right for you –  Simply let us know when you’d like your order shipped (at a time that’s convenient for you), and we’ll do all of the heavy lifting!
  2. Stress Reduction – Why panic when things start to return to normal?  The next few weeks will be slower on the front-end, so why not take advantage of this extra time to prepare for the future?  We’re here to help in making plans for a successful 2020… before the chaos of summer starts!
  3. Guaranteed Availabilty – By pre-booking your order now, you are GUARANTEED to have the best selection of products available.  Once your order is placed, we “reserve” all requested items, avoiding potential out-of-stock situations.
  4. 100% Guaranteed Sale – If things don’t work out, or you need to delay the shipment of your order longer than expected, remember that every purchase from BLAST-OFF Fireworks is protected by our “100% Guaranteed Sale” money-back guarantee.  There are no penalties or restocking fees when returning merchandise, should your situation change.

Let’s get ready to LAUNCH YOUR PROFITS™ in 2020!  Contact BLAST-OFF Fireworks today to reserve your summer fireworks order!

Need new ordering materials?  Check your mailbox, or use the links below to access our 2020 Program Guide and Master Price List:

All the best, and remember, the entire BLAST-OFF Fireworks Crew is just one click (www.blastofffireworks.ca) or call (1-866-827-4765) away!

SUPPLY CHAIN SPOTLIGHT – WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2020

Article written by:
Matt Bialek
President, BLAST-OFF Fireworks

While we are crazy-excited about Manitoba 150 and the upcoming summer, the entire crew at BLAST-OFF Fireworks has been pulling up their sleeves to ensure 2020 is a success for our customers.

Behind the scenes in the fireworks industry, the 2020 summer ramp-up is proving to be strange and unique – quite unlike anything we’ve seen before.

The story of 2020 started in July of last year, in a location that’s literally on the other side of the world.

China continues to be the largest manufacturer of fireworks in the world, and rightly so… they have been producing fireworks for thousands of years!  The variety of fireworks products offered by Chinese manufacturers (located mainly in the province of Hunan), coupled with unparalleled quality relative to North American producers, makes them the “go-to” source for the global fireworks market.  Starting in July of 2019, all Chinese fireworks factories were forced to close due to unusually hot temperatures.  These closures continued through most of the summer, resulting in significant production delays.  Fortunately, these hot temperatures began to recede in October, and all factories were permitted to re-open and re-commence production.

The jubilation over re-opened factories was catastrophically short-lived, however.  In December, 2019, the Chinese fireworks industry was rocked by two – nearly back-to-back – large-scale factory explosions.  Production was instantly halted by Chinese Government officials, while they conducted a detailed probe into the causes of these explosions, and an evaluation of the safety practices at all Chinese fireworks factories.  This shut-down started near the beginning of December, and continued through the end of January, resulting in drastic changes for manufacturers:

  • Reduced Factory Hours – Factories may only operate between 7am and 5pm, 6 days per week.
  • Age Restrictions – Chinese fireworks producers are no longer permitted to employ persons over 60-years of age.  Unfortunately, this disqualifies some of the most qualified staff in the industry from using their talents and experience.
  • Revised Storage Limits – Factories now face revised quantity limits when storing components like “explosive composition” in their workshop settings.  This means more materials handling, slower production, and greater expense.

It is anticipated that, once the dust settles from the December incidents, between 20% and 30% of Chinese fireworks producers will permanently cease operations.  This will dramatically reduce the pool of qualified suppliers for the global fireworks market in the years-to-come.

Fast-forward to January 2020.  Just a couple of hours away from the Chinese Province of Hunan, another Chinese city was about to gain international attention: Wuhan.  Prior to January, I’ll bet that the majority of North Americans had never heard of the City of Wuhan, population 11+ million.  Today, “Wuhan” is seared into our collective memory – as the unfortunate “ground zero” city for the world’s COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 crippled the entire Chinese economy – everything from manufacturing to domestic transportation, export port services, and raw materials procurement jolted to a nearly two-month halt.  Entire cities within China bunkered down in fear, not knowing where the viral outbreak was headed.  Again, fireworks manufacturing was totally shuttered over this period.

Just as Chinese fireworks factories started to explore re-opening after wave #1 of COVID-19 in February, the next three chapters of our 2020 story began to unfold in rapid-succession back home, in Canada:

  1. Canada’s Rails – A Dangerous Goods Crisis: Canada’s rail network had one of the worst months in history this-past February.  Within a period of two weeks, two trains carrying heavy crude oil derailed in the province of Saskatchewan.

    The effects of these derailments sent shockwaves through Canada’s logistics system.  Ultimately, the Government of Canada enacted special restrictions governing the shipment of any and all “Dangerous Goods” within Canada’s rail network.  Specifically, any train consist containing upwards of 20 carloads of “Dangerous Goods” shipments was restricted to “half-speed” (around 50-60km per hour in open areas) while traversing the huge bounds of our country.  This caused – and is still causing – massing bottlenecks of dangerous goods cargo within the Canadian logistics system.

    What’s the connection to fireworks? Fireworks are considered to be “Dangerous Goods” cargo, and our shipments have been subject to greatly increased delivery times when shipping from the Port of Vancouver to our Distribution Centre via rail.  Put bluntly, we have several containers of product “hung-up” within the Canadian rail system.

  2. Smoke and Fire – A Home-Grown Crisis: In tandem with the above Dangerous Goods Crisis, the Canadian transportation system faced another new, home-grown crisis.

    Ironically, the flashpoint of this crisis also revolved around oil… protestors barricaded railroad main-lines throughout Canada in support of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.  These Hereditary Chiefs are opposed to the construction of an oil pipeline through their traditional lands in BC.

    These sometimes-hostile barricades brought non-essential railroad traffic to a halt.  Container shipments from China and other foreign destinations began accumulating at all Canadian ports.  Several container ships were denied entry at their assigned docks, as shipping yards did not have room to accomodate their cargo.

    Again, our fireworks shipments were not immune to delays and holds on this front.

  3. It’s Here… and it’s not a Case of Beer: Flipping the calendar to March brought some relief at the office!  Our factories were back to producing fireworks in China, albeit at a greatly reduced pace.  Wet’suwet’en rail protests abruptly ended when it was agreed that dialogue could replace protests. Half-speed restrictions on dangerous goods shipments by rail were set to expire over the next week, meaning deliveries would again pick-up for fireworks.  Things were looking up!

    Then it hit at home – COVID-19 (aka “The Coronavirus”).  This situation continues to play out for everyone involved, and requires no further explanation.  At present, we – just like you – have no idea of where this crisis will take our colleagues, our customers, and our communities next.

    At BLAST-OFF Fireworks, we’ve executed our Emergency COVID-19 response plan, as highlighted below.  It’s our goal to help everyone out to the best of our ability moving forward, but I think it’s safe to assume that our entire supply chain could see further impacts from this latest crisis.

So what does all of this mean for you, our valued customers?  

  • First-and-foremost, I would like to state that we’re here for you, your staff, and your communities.  Please reach out to us if we can assist in any way.  The best methods to contact us are by phone at 1-866-827-4765 or by e-mail at sales@blastofffireworks.ca (your e-mail message will be directed internally thereafter).
  • Fireworks will be in short-supply in 2020 and 2021.  I encourage you to pre-order your summer inventories now.  We’ll happily pack your order, store it within our climate-controlled Distribution Centre, and ship it whenever you are ready!  It’s as simple as that – with absolutely no risk or cashflow implications on your end.
  • Anticipate logistics difficulties / delays as we navigate the COVID-19 crisis.  Our carrier partners (Loomis Express, Purolator Courier, Day & Ross, Manitoulin Transport, Gardewine Express, and others) have advised of delays and special handling procedures for “all” freight shipments as we navigate these un-tested waters.  We’ll do everything in our power to expedite your fireworks orders from our end!
  • Keep your fireworks section well-stocked, as prices will rise in 2021, due to the Chinese production issues discussed above.

My promise to you is communication.  My staff and I will keep you updated as information becomes available.  We’re hopeful that this communication will allow you to make the best – and most-profitable – business decisions for you and your staff in 2020.  I would encourage you to follow BLAST-OFF Fireworks on Twitter – we’ll post information here as it becomes available.

Most importantly, I would like to say “Thank You”.  We appreciate your trust and patience as we face the most strange and unique summer ramp-up in our 21-year history.

While these may be challenging and frightening times, we’re fully committed to work with you and your team to get through this together!

COVID-19 UPDATE

As we battle the COVID-19 pandemic, the safety of our employees, communities, and customers are our primary concern. There are a number of measures we’re taking to ensure that we get through this situation safely, while continuing to serve our community and customers effectively.

While our corporate offices and distribution campus remain operational, we have asked our staff to limit public social interaction while on-duty with our organization for the foreseeable future.  To this end, we have limited access to all public areas of our offices and buildings.  We have also asked our employees limit all non-essential meetings and travel.  In the event that team members exhibit signs of illness, we have asked these individuals to self-isolate and remain at home for a minimum of 14 days.

While the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve daily, we are committed to providing you with the products and services that you expect – in a timely fashion.

These methods of communication are open, and will remain open, for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • Order Desk / Customer Service Toll-Free Telephone:  1-866-827-4765
  • Order Desk / Customer Service E-mail: sales@blastofffireworks.ca

While these may be challenging and frightening times, we’re fully committed to work with you and your team to get through this together!

Click here for a downloadable policy statement from Matt Bialek, President of BLAST-OFF Fireworks.

NEW FOR 2020!

Check out these EXPLOSIVE new items… arriving in 2020!

At last count, we’ve added over 40 new products in 2020, and we’ve provided a few sneak-peeks with the links below.

AVAILABLE NOW:

COMING SOON:

Need a new price list to keep track of all of the new additions?  Click here to download our most current version.

Be sure to “follow” our Twitter LiveFeed for up-to-the-minute announcements about new product availability!  As new products roll into our National Distribution Centre, we’ll broadcast news about their arrival in “real-time”!

LOOKING AHEAD

At BLAST-OFF Fireworks, we are encouraging our customers to look ahead to May Long Weekend 2020!

This year, May Long Weekend falls a bit earlier than usual, and runs from Friday, May 15th through Monday, May 18th.

Given current world events, and product delays from our Chinese manufacturers, we are encouraging our customers to place their orders early.  This will ensure the best selection of products, and seamless delivery to your location!  BEST OF ALL… you can pre-book your order now, and our team will pre-pack it for shipment at your convenience!

Here are our May Long Weekend order deadlines for “Guaranteed Delivery” across Canada:

  • British Columbia: May 6
  • Alberta: May 7
  • Saskatchewan: May 8
  • Manitoba: May 8
  • Ontario: May 7
  • Quebec: May 6
  • Eastern Canada: May 4
  • Newfoundland: May 1
  • Northern Canada: May 1

For more information on delivery lead-times across the country, click here.

Remember, if you require assistance in placing your 2020 Victoria Day fireworks order, Mission Control is just a quick phone call away at 1-866-827-4765!

CAN WE HELP?

The Canadian Retail Industry continues to be one of the most closely-knit groups of collaborating entrepreneurs in Canada.

BLAST-OFF! takes pride in being the most proactive and innovative fireworks company in Canada. From our “Guaranteed Sale” terms to our Loan-A-Cabinet™ Fixture Leasing Program, BLAST-OFF! Fireworks continues to develop the products, services, and educational materials to allow retailers to maximize category profitability.

Do you know of somebody that BLAST-OFF! Fireworks could help??

As BLAST-OFF! Fireworks continues to expand into all parts of Canada, we greatly appreciate business referrals! Best of all, if you share your positive experiences with fellow colleagues, you will be rewarded! For every new client you refer, we will reserve a FREE carton of Campfire FX for your store ($100 value)!

There are no limits to the BLAST-OFF! Client Referral program… refer and be rewarded at your convenience!

Simply click here to contact Mission Control with your referral!