Businesses in Northeast brace for monster blizzard

Companies across the Northeast are bracing themselves for what experts say could be a record-setting blizzard, with forecasts calling for some cities in the region to get more than three feet of snow.

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning that covers the coastal areas of New Jersey up through Maine, with the exception of Massachusetts' Nantucket Island. Winter storm warnings are in effect for the panhandle regions of Maryland and West Virginia, along with much of interior New England and the Northern Mid-Atlantic. Governors in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts have declared states of emergencies in their states, urging people to stay of the roads to order to avoid creating problems for emergency personnel.

Consumer goods company Kimberley-Clark (KMB) will shutter its New Milford, Conn., factory for 24 hours starting this afternoon because of concerns about road conditions. The company, whose products include Huggies diapers, is also weighing whether to close its plant in Chester, Pa. outside of Philadelphia, according to a company spokesman.

Utilities such as National Grid (NGG), which serves 3.5 million customers in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island, are working with neighboring electric companies to deal with the many power outages expected to be caused by the storm.

"We are advising customers to expect multi-day outages," said Fred Keubler, a company spokesman.

As the snowfall intensified, theater operators in New York canceled all performances scheduled for Monday night. Air traffic also is expected to grind to a halt.

Other businesses said that, at least for now, they expect stay open, and even used the storm to plug their products.

"Like everyone else, we are watching the weather reports, and as of right now we are still planning to be open and don't anticipate any issues," writes Michelle Diamandis, a spokeswoman with Boston Beer, maker of Samuel Adams. "Regardless, we look forward to enjoying the snow here in Boston with a Boston Lager in hand."

The harsh winter weather is a boon for some businesses. Providers of milk, bread and other staples, such as Dean Foods (DF), and Flowers Foods (FLO), a bakery company whose bread brands include Wonder, Nature's Own and HomePride, both said they provided additional products to meet increased demand in the Northeast as consumers stocked up on groceries.

"Flowers Foods and our bakeries in the region have spent the past several days preparing in advance of the storm," said Richard Holder, Flowers Foods' senior vice president of the Northeast region. "Our teams have gotten more bread onto store shelves so consumers would be ready for expected blizzard conditions."

Chains such as closely held grocery chains Wegman's and Wawa, a convenience store operator, have also seen an surge in business.

"Yesterday was record-breaking in all of our stores that are in the path of the storm," said Jo Natale, a spokeswoman for Wegman's, which owns 84 stores in the Mid-Atlantic region, adding that the company is putting up some employees in hotels to make sure stores are able to open on Tuesday. "Things have gone smoothly considering the influx of business."

Wawa, which has more than 630 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida, has instituted contingency planning to serve customers hot coffee and other products during emergency conditions, according to Lori Bruce, a company spokeswoman, in an email.

"As you know, we are one of the first places customers turn to in challenging times, and we are proud to be here for our snow plow operators, emergency workers, the media and those performing essential services," she wrote in an email.