Asda has chartered its own cargo ship for the first time to ensure festive items such as toys, clothing, and decorations reach its stores, as retailers take extreme measures to mitigate pre-Christmas supply chain problems. The ship, carrying 350 containers from east Asia, is part of efforts to avoid shortages during the crucial holiday period.
The supermarket also reported that it has stocked up on extra turkeys and pigs in blankets, and is building supplies of mince pies, confectionery, and puddings. These measures come as Asda revealed a 0.7% drop in sales for the three months to 31 October, compared to the same period last year when lockdowns boosted spending on homes and gardens.
With rising concern about the Omicron variant of Covid-19, Asda has increased its grocery home delivery capacity to 1 million slots in the final week before Christmas, up from 765,000 last year. The retailer aims to meet demand amid fears of further high street restrictions.
The supply chain crisis has been driven by a shortage of qualified lorry drivers, disruption in container distribution during the pandemic, and hold-ups in production in east Asia due to Covid restrictions. These issues have been compounded by labour shortages in the UK partly linked to post-Brexit immigration rules.
Other retailers have also adopted inventive solutions. John Lewis partnered with others to charter container ships and flew in items like Christmas lights, while Tesco scaled up rail freight and offered lorry drivers £1,000 signing-on fees. Asda's owners, Mohsin and Zuber Issa, said colleagues have 'pulled out all the stops' to ensure customers can enjoy Christmas.
