‘We expect full recovery to take some time’: Woolworths rushes to restock shelves by Christmas

Woolworths is racing to restock shelves in the final two weeks of the year, increasing staffing, delivery volumes, and operating hours, and ensuring suppliers the supermarket is prioritising “key foodlines for Christmas”.

The supermarket is scrambling after a 17-day strike at its distribution hubs saw grocery deliveries halted, and sales impacted by approximately $140 million, close to triple the $50 million in losses the supermarket estimated in a December 3 stock market update.

In a letter sent to suppliers last week, Woolworths chief commercial officer, Paul Harker, said the restocking efforts had been accelerated, but will take time.