Italian retailer Coop has said that it is 'operating at full speed' to replenish supermarkets in the region of Lombardy, at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
In a statement, the retailer said that it was 'taking stock of the most-requested items' in stores, which include long-life foodstuffs such as pasta, as well as sanitisers and disinfectants, after in-store supplies 'quickly ran out' in the region.
Last weekend, sales in its stores across Milan and Lombardy were up more than 50% on a typical weekend, as shoppers stocked up amid fears of a lockdown, similar to that which has occurred in Wuhan province, in China.
"Supplies of goods are regular and are continuous, with warehouses operating at full speed," a Coop spokesperson said.
The retailer flagged that it was having 'difficulty' sourcing disinfectant gels and face masks, which are now out of stock, but it is expecting to get these back in stock in the coming days.
'Not Normal'
Elsewhere, Valter Geri, the president of Conad Nord Ovest, which manages some 580 stores in Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Piedmont, Lazio and surrounding regions, told news agency Ansa that current consumption trends across its stores are "not normal".
"We hope that things will return to normal, because having to sustain peaks that are not foreseen from this point of view also creates discomfort," he said.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
