Harrods has delayed its famous summer Sale as its new season stock has yet to arrive.
The luxury department store retailer said its products have been caught up in the global supply chain troubles that have plagued the retail industry throughout the past two years.
The issues have been confounded by Covid-19 restrictions in China and the war in Ukraine.
Harrods managing director Michael Ward told Bloomberg at the Qatar Economic Forum that the retailer’s supply chain was running “two to three weeks behind from where it should be”.
He said: “We’ve just delayed the summer Sale for two weeks because I need another 10% of new season stock to allow me to function into the new year.”
Harrods is also struggling to recruit staff due to tighter labour laws following Brexit.
Ward said: “It’s almost impossible to find the right staff. We’ve lost significant amounts of people as a result of Brexit. And it’s not the skilled or qualified, it’s the people we need to do jobs that unfortunately the British will not do.”
Despite soaring inflation, demand for luxury has remained strong, Ward said – particularly from customers in the Middle East, America and the UK.
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