Sainsbury’s is working with the government to try and mitigate disruptions to shipments in the Red Sea following a series of attacks by Houthi rebels.
The incidents, which were first reported in November, have seen some of the largest shipping firms having to halt shipments and divert ships, causing delays to deliveries.
Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts said: “We’re working hard to make sure that we mitigate any impacts for customers, both in terms of availability, but also we have long term contracts in place on these issues.”
He explained that the supermarket is planning the sequencing of products from Asia Pacific so that it ensures products arrive in the right order.
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“We’re just watching the situation very closely. We obviously bring a lot of our general merchandise products across the world, and products like wine as well.
“But so far we’re navigating this and making sure that we mitigate the impacts as far as possible, obviously working with the government on it so that these issues are hopefully resolved as soon as possible,” he added.
It comes as Sainsbury’s posted a strong third quarter performance, with grocery sales having increased 9.3%, and up 8.6% as more shoppers flocked to the supermarket giant.
Roberts attributed the sales growth in part to its Nectar Prices loyalty pricing.
