U.S. House: Health Care DebateWestmoreland Co. Business Sees Spike In Flag SalesSales Double Following Presidential ElectionPOSTED: 9:10 pm EST November 7,
2008 NEW STANTON, Pa. -- Barack Obama's win in Tuesday's presidential election has boosted sales of all sorts of patriotic merchandise.An Internet company whose distribution center is in Westmoreland County has experienced a serious demand for American flags – doubling sales.Kevin Hickey and his wife started selling flags online and shipping them from their basement just after Sept. 11, 2001.Their company, OnlineStores.com, has 100 employees."After the election on Tuesday, we noticed our sales increase immediately,” said Hickey. “During the night, sales went up significantly.”Hickey credits President-elect Obama’s popularity for the sudden surge of patriotism that helped boost sales by 50 percent.“November is usually a slow time, but it is comparable to our summer peak time,” said Hickey.Hickey’s company sells 10 million flags a year, most around Independence Day, but now workers are being moved off other packing lines just to keep up with the demand.Hickey, who just became a United States citizen, voted for the first time on Tuesday.He’s an Obama supporter and is in the process of designing commemorative flags that he hopes will fill shelves in the next few weeks. Related Links:
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