Ikea struggles to supply stores while M&S warns of food import crisis

The Swedish furniture retailer said the product shortages, which include mattresses, have hit around 10% of stock in its 22 UK and Ireland stores.

It has attributed the issues to both Covid and Brexit, exacerbated by the HGV driver shortage which has been widely publicised this year.

An Ikea spokesperson said: “Like many retailers, we are experiencing ongoing challenges with our supply chains due to Covid-19 and labour shortages, with transport, raw materials and sourcing all impacted.

“In addition, we are seeing higher customer demand as more people are spending more time at home. 

”As a result, we are experiencing low availability in some of our ranges, including mattresses.”

“What we are seeing is a perfect storm of issues, including the disruption of global trade flows and a shortage of drivers, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic and Brexit.”

Marks and Spencer has echoed Ikea’s concerns, as it warned of food supply issues in the coming months.

M&S said that these problems were made worse by the working hour limitations of EU officials - who do not work on weekends.

The retailer held an emergency meeting with European suppliers amid concerns of stricter border controls coming into effect next month, as well as the issue of health certification officials, who are required for animal product imports, working Monday to Friday only.

“Modern food systems rely on importing food seven days a week, so this working pattern will cause significant disruption to that import schedule and exacerbate the HGV driver shortage,” M&S Food commercial director George Wright wrote in a letter to suppliers.

“Our proposed solution that we set out today is for a digitally enabled Facilitated Movement Scheme that still meets all of the EU standards, but with a common sense, practical and modern approach to achieving them that everyone can work with, EU and GB businesses alike.

“The goal of such a scheme would be to simplify the documentation burden, for both UK and EU businesses, whilst still demonstrating standards are being met. 

“We hope a scheme like this will be adopted and we would value your support in engaging and advocating for this approach with your local governments.”

M&S added that it hopes both the UK and EU officials can come together in order to ensure imports pass through checkpoints, as 25% of the UK’s food supply comes from mainland Europe, or risk further shortages.