Asda has revealed it chartered its own cargo ship to ensure key festive items such as toys, clothing and decorations reach its stores, in the latest example of the extreme measures retailers are taking to mitigate pre-Christmas supply chain problems.
The supermarket, which revealed in a trading update on Monday that sales fell 0.7% in the three months to 31 October, said the ship carrying 350 containers of items from east Asia was its first ever private charter.
Asda said it had also stocked up on extra turkeys and pigs in blankets in stores and was building supplies of mince pies, confectionery and puddings to head off problems in the final weeks before Christmas Day.
It said sales in the summer quarter were down in comparison with the same
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