The holiday season is months away, but food distributors and supermarkets are stockpiling food to prepare for what could be a sales surge if COVID-19 cases rise. Anthony Hucker, CEO of Southeastern Grocers, a Jacksonville, Florida-based supermarket chain, told WSJ he placed orders for holiday hams and turkeys in June, July and August long before he typically does. “We started talking about Thanksgiving in June,” President Chris Testa told WSJ. As a result of the experience earlier this year, food distributors and supermarkets are keeping months of stock rather than weeks, WSJ reported. Back in March, “we didn’t know what we didn’t know,” Chris Lewis, executive vice president of Supply Chain at Ahold Delhaize’s Retail Business Services, told WSJ.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 27, 2020 22:28 UTC