// Sainsbury’s delays toy promotion by a week due to ongoing supply chain crisis
// The retailer said delays in international shipping times from Asia to the UK were responsible
Sainsbury’s is being forced to delay its toy promotion by a week due to the ongoing supply chain crisis, which is causing stock shortages.
The retailer said the uncertainty in international shipping times from Asia to the UK were responsible for the delay in its annual Christmas toy promotion.
“On the general merchandise side, there are challenges there,” Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said.
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“Specifically, I would call out clearly the delays in shipping times. Normally it takes 24 or 25 days shipping from Asia to the UK. We’ve seen that be north of 40 days.
“We forward-brought a lot of container capacity, so we’re confident we will get everything through that we’ve planned for. But there are some challenges.
“Specifically, I would call out that we would normally run a toy promotion, which we have to delay this year.
“There are a couple of specific product categories that will be familiar to you that have been well trailed.
“One is consumer electronics, particularly given that the shortage of chips in production is an industry-wide issue. A global issue. I think in that category, particularly now, there’ll be less stock available than would normally be the case.”
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