THE outgoing chief executive of Tesco has used an interview with Sky News to plead for customers to shop normally as coronavirus restrictions are ramped up.
Dave Lewis told Ian King Live that stockpiling was “unnecessary” as there was no disruption in supply chains as a result of the new measures, which fall short of a full lockdown to tackle rising COVID-19 infection rates
Supermarket shelves were overwhelmed in early March as households stocked up on essentials – with toilet rolls among the items rammed into trolleys as a siege mentality set in ahead of the stay at home order.
Tesco and its rivals were forced to implement purchase limits on a range of products which were slowly lifted as stocks recovered.
“The message would be one of reassurance. I think the UK saw how well the food industry managed last time, so there are very good supplies of food,” Mr Lewis said.
“We just don’t want to see a return to unnecessary panic buying because that creates a tension in the supply chain that’s not necessary.
“And therefore we would just encourage customers to continue to buy as normal,” he concluded.