Iceland boss Richard Walker calls for calm as panic buying stories spread
The UK is at a “perilous turning point” during the coronavirus outbreak and must act, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs today, announcing new restrictions for England including a return to home working and 10pm closing for pubs.
In March, some £60 million of products were stockpiled in the first week of the coronavirus crisis alone. You couldn’t get loo roll anywhere and there were no online delivery slots available. It was not fun.
Fast forward to the present day and certain sections of our mainstream media have been quick to run ‘a second wave of panic buying’ scare stories, often based on social media accounts suggesting fresh signs of empty supermarket shelves. Sadly, some of our rivals in the retail space have followed suit (for shame, guys!)
Enter Iceland Foods boss Richard Walker who tweeted the following today…
Well said, Richard!
The Co-op
Yesterday, Co-op Group CEO Steve Murrells sent an emotional message to his 60,000 colleagues as the UK’s four chief scientists lifted the Covid-19 threat level up from three to four. This means transmission of the coronavirus is high, or rising "exponentially”.
“To my Co-op colleagues - at home, in stores, depots, funeral homes, and our offices. It’ll be hard to hear about the second wave of infections coming,” Co-op Group CEO Steve Murrells said in a LinkedIn post.
“I know you’re physically and emotionally shattered. We’re in this together. We’re ready as one Co-op team. Be kind to yourselves and each other. #ItsWhatWeDo.”
Extraordinary resilience
Last week, Murrells praised Co-op employees’ “extraordinary resilience” during the coronavirus outbreak.
He did so as the company warned it would not be immune to Britain’s economic downturn even as it reported a 35% leap in profits in the first half of the year.
