Stock shortages have filtered down to Nisa and Costcutter stores as the Co-op continues to battle the cyberattack on its operations.
In communications sent to retailers, seen by The Grocer, the symbol groups listed products that were either “temporarily unavailable” or “out of stock” as a result of supplier issues, across both Co-op own label and branded products.
These spanned fruit & veg, fresh meat and poultry, dairy products, chilled ready meals, snacks and desserts.
Co-op Wholesale, the recently rebranded wholesale division of Nisa, highlighted 26 products that were affected in a daily update sent to retailers yesterday (12 May).
These included Co-op’s Vanilla Cheesecake 475g and Quiche Lorraine 400g, and branded lines such as Lucozade Sports Raspberry 500ml and Chupa Chups Lollies.
“It’s really poor,” said one Nisa retailer. “I feel bad for them but what makes it worse is their hush-hush mentality about it. There’s no proper level of communication and we get random updates.”
Co-op Wholesale said some lines may be out of stock due to seasonal demand and not related to the cyber incident.
Costcutter, meanwhile, sent an update to retailers on Friday (9 May) warning them of 91 Co-op own label lines that had been “temporarily delisted”. These included Co-op Roast Chicken Thighs 390g, Co-op Flat Peaches, and Co-op Strawberry Protein Yoghurt 200g.
“The availability issue is impacting us but we are able to source and stock alternatives to the majority of the items,” said a Costcutter retailer.
The disruption to supply follows a cyberattack that has continued to wreak havoc on the Co-op since 30 April. It has caused widespread availability issues across its estate, after the attack had “necessitated the temporary shutdown of certain elements of our supply chain and logistics operations”.
Nisa Retail and Costcutter, which are supplied Co-op products through the Co-op Wholesale supply chain, have since been hit with reduced availability.
“We want to assure you, our valued partners, that Co-op Wholesale depots are operating as normal,” said Co-op Wholesale in an update to retailers on Friday.
“Co-op own brand suppliers are prioritising the production of our Minimum Credible Range (MCR), as we know these are the most important lines for you, but there are a small number of Co-op own brand lines which will temporarily be unavailable.”
The wholesaler also listed “suitable alternatives” to the lines unavailable to “ensure stores can remain stocked”.
In Costcutter’s communication to retailers, it said: “You will no doubt be aware of the much-publicised cyberattack which is affecting the Co-op. We wanted to provide you with an update and assure you that the Co-op Wholesale depots are operating as normal but some lines are still being impacted.
“Due to current circumstances, 91 own-brand products will be temporarily unavailable. We have attached a list of affected products and suggested available alternatives to help minimise the disruption.”
The Grocer reported last week that regional Co-op societies had also felt the impact of the Co-op Group cyberattack, with Southern Co-op, Midcounties Co-op, Heart of England Co-op and Lincolnshire Co-op having all confirmed disruption to the supply of food to their stores.
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