Christmas supply issues: how worried are independent retailers?

Christmas has come early to the nation’s supermarkets, with Iceland reporting turkey sales up by 400% year on year in early October. Shoppers seem to be heeding the warnings of shortages of certain foods as a result of labour shortages and supply chain issues, particularly the lack of HGV drivers.

It’s a situation that has hit large suppliers and retail chains hard. But what of the impact on specialist, independent retailers such as farm shops and delis?

Here, a selection of specialist retailers discuss their situation as the festive season approaches.

Flourish Foodhall & Kitchen, Saltford

Paul Hargreaves, CEO of parent company Cotswold Fayre

Are you concerned about stock supply issues?
We are not expecting to receive all the products we ordered for our Christmas range. A number of suppliers have had challenges with packaging, labour to produce their products and the well-documented supply chain issues, all of which means some SKUs will be late or not arrive at all. That said, independent retailers are in a much better position to fill the ‘holes’ with other products due to a more flexible supply chain. Flexibility is the watch-word here, and finding producers that can continue supplying us right through to Christmas if we sell out or don’t receive product from other suppliers.

Are you less likely to be impacted by supply issues than the supermarkets?
Independents generally don’t work on just-in-time supply, so have more of a buffer. At Flourish Foodhall & Kitchen we have installed extra temporary warehousing for Christmas, and Cotswold Fayre is holding more stock than normal years to mitigate future issues, which there surely will be.

Do you have any other concerns regarding Christmas trade?
Clearly, we are not out of the woods on Covid yet with current infection rates. That still has to be the main concern for everyone in business.

Slate Cheese, Aldeburgh

Clare Jackson, director

Are you concerned about stock supply issues?
Christmas supply issues have been a significant concern over the past few months. We are concerned about cheese supplies from Europe, which need to be imported over the next few weeks, and within Britain. Labour shortages in recent months have impacted the output of several British cheesemakers. We are not able to receive supplies of cheese in advance, but our orders are placed with trusted suppliers. All we can do now is keep our fingers crossed that cheeses arrive in December. We have also been concerned about packaging supply problems for the online side of our business. Over the past year, we have started to use a British cardboard supplier to avoid difficulties of shipping delays and unloading deliveries arriving from overseas. Hopefully, we are in a good position to fill online orders provided we have the cheese.

Are shoppers already stocking up for Christmas?
Given its perishable nature, we are not seeing customers stockpile cheese but we are already receiving orders and enquiries from customers keen to secure a December delivery slot. We hope problems around HGV drivers and petrol supplies will not prevent the overnight courier services we use from doing an efficient and reliable job.

The Farm, Stratford-upon-Avon

Charlie Wells, marketing head

Are you concerned about stock supply issues?
Food stock and supplies seems to be relatively on track for us. Working with multiple, smaller suppliers certainly helps with this. Our main concern is homeware and gifting deliveries, as there seems to be ongoing delays with our suppliers. We are stocking up with our smaller suppliers, just to make sure other areas of the shop are fully stocked .

Are you less likely to be impacted by supply issues than the supermarkets?
We’re pretty much in the same boat, whether a large or small independent. Yes, we work with smaller businesses which can deliver directly, but the supermarkets have greater buying power which may help with stock availability and delivery times.

Are shoppers already stocking up for Christmas?
We’ve certainly had customers asking about Christmas, and when they can pre-order meat. I think once 1 November arrives we’ll see an almighty surge!

Do you have any other concerns regarding Christmas trade?
We were lucky to remain open for Christmas last year, while other businesses were closed. As a result we had our best Christmas. This year, customers have many more options and places to visit, so we’re a little nervous as to how Christmas trade will be. All I do know is we’ve just got to go for it and give it our best shot.

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Edge & Son butchers, Wirral and Liverpool

Debbie Edge, owner

Are you concerned about stock supply issues?
As small producers with small supply chains, we are blessed to a certain extent of being outside the ‘chaos’ of lorry drivers and abattoir worker shortages. We committed to our free-range poultry orders in February and our birds are well on the way to maturity, when some of the mass-market birds are just being born. The effect on us is that when supermarkets run out and the public panic, they will be knocking on our door. So, we are telling all our loyal customers to get their order in early so they are not disappointed in December. We are determined to serve our regulars as they are so important to us every day of the year. One worry we have is packaging. With the increase in Amazon deliveries and the like worldwide, we are struggling at times to secure our orders.

Are shoppers already stocking up for Christmas?
Ten days into our online orders opening, we had 10 times the orders we had at the same point last year. The public is getting organised and securing their Christmas feast early.

Do you have any other concerns regarding Christmas trade?
Covid has brought with it uncertainty, but us independents adapted so well last year and we can do so again. One of the joys of being small is that we can react quickly to environmental changes.

The Corbridge Larder, Corbridge

Jennifer Horton, owner

Are you concerned about stock supply issues?
We have started to receive our Christmas orders and most things have arrived. There are one or two things missing but they are on back order and are still expected in. Regarding day-to-day items, we are having a few supply issues and are looking for alternative suppliers.

Are you less likely to be impacted by supply issues than the supermarkets?
Probably 90% of our products are sourced locally or within the UK and I think most of the disruption is from abroad. Also, for the quantities I purchase, our deliveries are mostly on vans rather that HGVs so we haven’t been affected by delivery issues… yet.

Do you have any other concerns regarding Christmas trade?
Our worry is having enough staff to cope with the orders and being able to fulfil orders, especially if, like last year, we only receive them late November/early December. We have enough staff just now but taking on seasonal staff may be difficult.

The Norfolk Deli, Hunstanton

Mark Kacary, MD

Are you concerned about stock supply issues?
Not really. We have had to do a finger-in-the-air estimation as to what people will want to order or buy over Christmas and, unfortunately, if you don’t order it you can’t expect to have it.

Are you less likely to be impacted by supply issues than the supermarkets?
We are a speciality food shop and don’t sell the everyday foods supermarket sell. We don’t sell what people would call essentials; we sell essential luxuries.

Do you have any other concerns regarding Christmas trade?
Only that we are lulled into a sense of false security into believing online could never be as crazy as it was last year and to be proven to be wrong.

Burwash Larder, Cambridge

Claire Roiser, manager

Are you concerned about stock supply issues?
Most of our ambient lines are arriving, and nothing seems to have gone awry just yet. One of the advantages of having lots of local producers is that they are very flexible and can pivot quickly, so we are confident they will be able to supply us as needed. We are, however, finding that the lion’s share of products arriving have gone up significantly in price, which we are having to pass on to the customer.

Are shoppers already stocking up for Christmas?
We have started putting the seasonal products out much earlier this year so it is hard to compare. We feel the media is scaring the public into buying early so feel we should be offering Christmas products to those who do want them. They are disappearing from the shelves.

Do you have any other concerns regarding Christmas trade?
We are very concerned about staffing issues, as most in the industry are. We are also concerned about the rising Covid cases.

Fittleworth Stores, Pulborough

Alison Welterveden, chair

Are you less likely to be impacted by supply issues than the supermarkets?
We believe we are likely to be in a much stronger position that many supermarkets. We stock using a mix of products from a national wholesaler alongside produce from over 40 local suppliers. This means we are able to keep a more steady supply and are less affected by some of the current issues.

Are shoppers already stocking up for Christmas?
Although we are yet to put out our Christmas stock, we do anticipate high early demand in response to much of the reporting in the national press about supply issues.

The Cheese Lady, Haddington

Svetlana Kukharchuk, proprietor

Are you concerned about stock supply issues?
Some of the artisan products, including cheese, are produced on a small scale therefore may become unavailable due to high demand. However, because we keep an open mind when it comes to our cheese stock, we can order other cheeses to replace missing ones. We are placing our orders with suppliers as early as possible.

Are you less likely to be impacted by supply issues than the supermarkets?
I think so, because of our flexibility. I can make quick decisions about replacing missing items with something else. I know that at the end of the day people are not fixated on specific cheese and as long as the replacements are high-quality and delicious, our customers will be happy.

Are shoppers already stocking up for Christmas?
Shoppers are definitely starting their Christmas shopping earlier this year. They are already picking up things that will last until and after Christmas like artisan cheese condiments, wines and books. They are also asking us about placing Christmas orders.

Do you have any other concerns regarding Christmas trade?
My concern is about having enough staff to help us during the busiest month of the year. This year it’s been especially hard to find team members to join us for Christmas, but I’m still hopeful and looking.

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