Woolworths toilet paper to stay in South Australia as deliveries to Victoria end
South Australian shoppers can expect to see toilet paper stocks replenished in Woolworths supermarkets after a sustained campaign by The Advertiser to get to the bottom of why our shelves are empty while Victoria’s seem well-stocked.
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Woolworths has stopped sending toilet paper from its Gepps Cross distribution centre to Victoria, denying local stores ever missed out on their “fair share” of supplies.
The SA facility was used for several weeks to receive and dispatch sought-after supplies to Victorian supermarkets, in response to an unprecedented level of demand from shoppers across the country.
Despite the appearance that Victorian supermarkets have remained better stocked than local SA stores, a Woolworths spokesman said supplies were at all times distributed “fairly and in line with sales demand”.
“For a few weeks we used additional capacity at our South Australian distribution centre to receive and dispatch extra deliveries to some Victorian supermarkets, but that stopped last week,” he said.
“These extra deliveries were fulfilled with stock allocations that would have otherwise moved through our Victorian facilities.
“Throughout this time our South Australian stores continued to receive their fair share of stock from the national pool of products available to us in line with demand.
“At no stage did we prioritise deliveries to Victoria over our South Australian and Northern Territory stores from the distribution centre.”
Empty toilet paper shelves remain a common fixture in supermarkets across metropolitan Adelaide, with major chains struggling to keep up with the heightened demand prompted by the coronavirus outbreak.
But there are signs that demand is easing.
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Woolworths sold 11.5 million toilet rolls last week – down from 15 million the week before and 20 million the week before that.
“The good news is that demand for toilet paper is tapering, and product availability will continue to improve for customers,” the Woolworths spokesman said.
“We have lots more stock coming and appreciate our customers’ patience as we work to get things back to normal.”
The spokesman said the company operated a national supply chain, at times using extra capacity in certain facilities to service other parts of the network.
The Gepps Cross facility services all South Australian stores and also supports year-round demand from Woolworths stores in the Northern Territory.
It is currently undergoing a $57 million upgrade and expansion.