Target $18.5- Rally Time, page-395

Some sobering, though sensible comments from the COL CEO to be in tomorrow's (usually excellent - worth subscribing to - 'The Australian' on Wednesday 29 September 2021:

(WOW is also adversely affected. No reason to think Aldi - which imports the most, so it could also be affected by container shipping delays and 'missed port calls' - and MTS' IGAs arenot also affected):

"Coles Group is bracing for “difficult months ahead” in the run-up to Christmas as it contends with severely disrupted supply chains and strict Covid rules that are forcing thousands of its staff into 14-day home isolation to guard against the spread of the virus.

Speaking at a Trans-Tasman Business Circle event on Tuesday, Coles CEO Steven Cain revealed that 3000 of the supermarket giant’s staff were currently at home isolating, while many of its suppliers were also struggling with staff challenges due to the strict stay-at-home rules.

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“At this point, with Delta, we’re at our most difficult stage. We’ve got many team members in isolation, we’ve got severely disrupted supply chains, and we’ve got people working very hard,” Mr Cain said.

“Right now across the country we’ve got 3000 team members in isolation, which we have to manage, and then we’ve got a lot of our suppliers in similar situations … so thinking about how we plan for Christmas is really important.”

Victoria is just “at the start” of the staffing and supply challenges, he warned, as he detailed the retailer’s interactions with governments around the country as it looks to get the isolation rules relaxed.

“We’re working with the six health authorities, the federal and the states and territories, to try and get consistent rules and regulations, particularly around where there‘s been close contact,” he said.

“If a team member of ours has caught Covid outside of work, and they come into work, the whole shift goes down. So we lose 50 people at a time for 14 days, because one person has turned up.”

The retailer had had no known incidents of Covid being transmitted between staff members, he added.

“So we’re using facts to go back to the governments, and the NSW government has been excellent at re-looking at what makes a close contact, and what the subsequent events are.

“We’re working to get the rules changed so that if you are double-vaccinated and you’re being tested, you can still turn up for work.”..."