SUPERMARKETS IN IRELAND have experienced an increase in the sales of bread ahead of severe sub-zero weather warnings issued for this week.
Stores including Tesco, Lidl and Supervalu, are preparing for increased demand for some items ahead of Storm Emma which is due to hit Ireland tomorrow.
Orange snow-ice warnings are in place for seven counties in the east of Ireland from 3pm tomorrow until 11am on Wednesday. The weather is expected to be at its coldest on Thursday and Friday – gusts of wind have also been forecast.
A number of events have been rescheduled, and the government has made provisions to ensure people, businesses, emergency services and local authorities are prepared.
This afternoon, a number of pictures appeared on social media of empty bread shelves in various supermarkets.
In response to a query from TheJournal.ie, Tesco Ireland said that their stores have been “very busy across today” as “some customers stock up on core grocery essentials in advance of adverse weather expected later in the week”.
Tesco said they’ve ensured suppliers are able to provide extra stocks to meet this demand. A spokesperson said:
From tomorrow we’ve worked with our bread suppliers to ensure 20% more availability of fresh bread and we are also increasing the number of instore bakes to satisfy higher customer demand.
“We’re also increasing stock levels of fresh produce, including milk, with extra deliveries arriving this evening and throughout tomorrow.”
Lidl Ireland said that it also saw demand rise in its stores today.
We have experienced higher than normal sales of bread and milk items in many of our stores, especially across the Leinster region today.
“We have our daily deliveries planned to all stores across the country and as of now these are going ahead as normal,” a Lidl spokesperson added.
A spokesperson for Supervalu said:
SuperValu has a plan in place in the event of adverse weather conditions to ensure the availability of stock in store during this period.
“We advise the public to contact their local SuperValu stores to check the availability of specific items.”
A spokesperson for Aldi Ireland said that there was ”brisk business across all 130 of its Irish stores early this week”.
It said that the increased business could be due to its offers on supplies that might be needed during the cold weather, such as kiln dried logs and torches.
A Tesco spokesperson also advised people to check in on elderly or vulnerable neighbours to ensure that they have sufficient essential items for the coming days.
Dunnes Stores did not respond to TheJournal.ie‘s query at the time of publication.
- with reporting from Cianan Brennan
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