As New Zealanders continue to panic buy amid the coronavirus outbreak, the entire Countdown supermarket chain has today announced product limits on most grocery and essential items purchased online and in-store.
Countdown managing director Natalie Davis said there had been an “unprecedented” level of demand seen in stores.
The move comes following an open letter from supermarket heads from Countdown, Four Square, Fresh Choice, New World, Pak’nSave, and SuperValue today urging the public to curb panic buying. There is enough food to go around, the competitors all agreed.
But Countdown today went a step further and placed a temporary limit on all products, excluding produce and serviced deli, and reduced store trading hours nationwide.
A limit of two of the same product items per visit has been put in place from today.
Baby food (pouches, tins and jars) will have a limit of six. This means, for example, customers will only be able to buy a maximum of two packs of toilet paper, two packs of mince, two packets of chicken and so on.
In addition, store hours have been reduced, closing at 9pm tonight instead of an hour later. From tomorrow, online shopping services and store hours will operate from 9am to 8pm nationwide.
“We have plenty of food in our supply chain, however we simply cannot get it through the network fast enough if Kiwis don’t slow down their shopping. This is the only way we can try to manage demand,” says Ms Davis.
“While this may be frustrating or inconvenient for some customers, we need to provide our team with the time and ability they need to get as much product on shelf as possible during this time of extraordinary demand. If the store is too busy, we will be managing the number of people who can be in our stores at any one time for the safety and wellbeing of our team and other customers.
“We ask all New Zealanders to please respect these limits and only buy what they need to help as many Kiwis as possible access food and other groceries.
The major supermarket chains are urging calm in the face of more big queues today. (Source: Other)
“We have every truck on the road possible, and every team member possible working to support our stores and online services, and we’re hiring more. Every truck that has to go out full of toilet paper means that regular supermarket supplies can’t get through. We’re also working on ways to ensure that customers who need a bit more assistance can get the help they need in our stores and online.
“We would ask all our customers to continue to be kind, consider others and consider what you’ve got in your pantry already.
“Our teams continue to work tirelessly under difficult circumstances, so we ask that they are treated kindly and respectfully. We thank our customers for their continued patience and support as together we work through these challenging times together,” says Ms Davis.
Pak'nSave Royal Oak is allowing just 10 customers in at a time. (Source: Other)
Foodstuffs, the parent company of New World and Pak’nSave supermarkets, has not yet made a similar move but hinted today it may be in the pipeline.
"There has been an increased demand in particularly long shelf life products. Customers might see some limits placed on some products due to unexpected demands from time to time," said Foodstuffs South Island CEO Steve Anderson.
He also explains why there is no need to panic buy. (Source: Other)
"Our teams are working hard to replenish shelves to meet customers needs. We continue to encourage customers to shop normally. Our teams have everything in hand and if we all purchase as usual there will be no issues," he said.
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