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People who have put off Christmas shopping to the last minute may have a hard time sourcing toys as major retailers struggle to stock enough.
Toy shelves were almost completely empty at Kmart Riccarton, Christchurch, and shoppers were reporting gaps at other Kmart stores across the country.
A Kmart spokeswoman confirmed that the retailer was struggling to stock shelves in certain categories.
The Kmart spokeswoman said port congestion was affecting the company’s ability to get products to the store.
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A spokeswoman for The Warehouse said the retailer was confident about its current stock levels heading into the last week before Christmas, despite shipping challenges.
Marika Hill / Things
The toy shelves at Kmart Riccarton are nearly empty as the retailer struggles to get stock to stores.
“Delays in international shipping have meant that we have had to take additional steps to ensure we have sufficient levels of stock to meet customer demands during the peak period,” he said.
“We are confident in the availability of the product, however there may be some categories that are affected by delays in international shipping. We have more stock on the way, and we have stock daily. “
Congestion at ports across the country has hit businesses waiting for Christmas stocks.
On Monday, the co-founders of Invivo & Co Wines jumped into the water to protest what they believed were avoidable delays.
The company is still awaiting seven containers of rose prosecco that were supposed to launch in mid-December.
Ports of Auckland said Wednesday that the reduction in working hours in the wake of two workplace deaths was contributing to the backlog of containers.
The maximum number of hours for workers was reduced from 60 to 56 hours in September, and consecutive days off were ordered for longshoremen.
Ports of Auckland spokesman Matt Ball said the port had estimated a loss of around 14 percent of available working hours, or around 1,300 hours a week, as a result of the schedule changes.
Other contributing factors included a coronavirus-related delay in a major automation project at the port and a struggle to get the right personnel to handle the port’s eight cranes.
Supplied
Invivo & Co co-founders Tim Lightbourne (left) and Rob Cameron put to sea on Monday to protest the long wait for their products.
The company was trying to hire 50 new dock workers.
Ports of Auckland expected to have a new crane crew on board by Christmas, Ball said.
According to the Ports of Auckland website, there were 32 cargo ships scheduled to arrive at the port over the next nine days.
There are four cargo ships in the Gulf of Hauraki, according to marinetraffic.com, a global ship-tracking website.
