Coop secures local supplies amid stock shortages

The Channel Islands Coop is working with local producers to keep shelves stocked after a cyber-attack disrupted supplies, chief executive Mark Cox has said.

Some Coop stores in the islands have been experiencing stock shortages since hackers infiltrated the UK group's IT networks and claimed to have stolen the customer and employee data of more than 20 million people.

The Co-op Group in the UK said earlier this month the attack had not compromised data security in Guernsey or Jersey.

Jersey's Consumer Council has urged shoppers to remain patient, and described cyber attacks as "the new threat on the horizon" for Channel Island consumers.

Signs apologising to customers for the inconvenience caused by "supply chain issues beyond our control" have in recent days been placed in the Coop's Channel Island stores.

In a statement, Mr Cox said the supermarket was "actively securing alternative supplies – both locally and from other partners – to keep operations running as smoothly as possible".

He said he expected to see more stock on the shelves each day this week as systems came online across the UK.

The company thanked its members and customers and said it was committed to "restoring full functionality as quickly as possible".

Marks & Spencer (M&S) said it had also been affected and added that bosses had written to customers to alert them that some "personal customer information" had been taken.

M&S apologised for the disruption, saying there was "no evidence that the information had been shared" and it did not include "useable card or payment details".

Carl Walker, from the Jersey Consumer Council, said the issues being experienced by some stores were indirectly affecting others, as consumers "move around and shop elsewhere".

He said islanders had been "reasonably understanding", and urged shoppers to remain patient while supermarkets worked to restore services.

"It's slim pickings everywhere for the time being, but we're reassured that those supply chains are being restored as quickly as possible," he said.

"As an island, we are kind of used to this - not necessarily in the summer, often in the winter, when storms impact our deliveries - and we understand and we get by, and this, now, is a new threat.

"This is the new storm on the horizon - these cyber-attacks.

"It just shows how much of our life life relies on data, the internet, electronic forms of information and how even that, now, can impact the food that we eat around our dinner table."

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