Delhi lockdown triggers another panic buying | Economic Times

People in Delhi on Monday thronged shops to stock up everything from liquor to packaged foods such as biscuits, noodles, packaged rice and edible oils, to hygiene and sanitising products ahead of a week-long lockdown from 10 pm.Grocery products makers said packs were flying off shelves in the capital, similar to what happened before the lockdown was imposed in Maharashtra earlier this month, and there were serpentine queues in front of liquor shops at various high streets and standalone small outlets.“The surge in buying at liquor vends in the capital today is a panic response by consumers, further accelerated by the uncertainty over how long the lockdown will last,” said Vinod Giri, director general of liquor industry entity Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies that represents the country’s top alcobev makers.“We don’t have enough time to ensure Covid-19 protocols outside the vends,” he said. “Delhi controls one-third of the premium liquor market, so the curfew is a setback for the sector, which was staging month on month recoveries.”Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced a lockdown in the capital from 10 pm to 5 am next Monday, saying the pandemic situation is critical in the city. Delhi had reported a record 25,500 fresh cases on Sunday with test positivity rate of about 30%.Companies said they are applying last year’s learnings to deal with sudden spurt in demand of products, such as stepping up supply chain agility, reducing replenishment cycles of inventories and moving inventory stocks closer to demand centres.“We are seeing a lot of speculative buying and hoarding of bigger packs,” said Mayank Shah, senior category head at biscuits maker Parle Products.“Shops are running out of stocks and our top priority right now is to ensure we keep stocks replenished at all grocery stores we service.”82154651ITC chief executive, trade marketing and distribution, Sandeep Sule said there is a surge in demand across ecommerce and general trade platforms in Delhi and elsewhere. “We are witnessing pantry loading of our range of Savlon hygiene products as well as essential food products including staples under the Aashirvaad brand, Sunfeast biscuits and Yippee! noodles, especially in geographies impacted by the lockdowns and other restrictions,” he told ET.LT Foods, which sells rice and packaged foods under Daawat brand, too confirmed a sudden spike in demand both offline and online. “We have created global supply chain centres with strong distribution networks, which help us in ensuring product availability at all times,” said Ashwani Arora, managing director of LT Foods.Amid the steep surge in cases, sales of hygiene, immunity boosting and sanitising products are rising after slowing down two months ago when cases were falling.“We are witnessing a surge in demand of healthcare products, particularly for ayurvedic immunity boosters,” said Mohit Malhotra, chief executive of Dabur that makes chyawanprash and various other immunity boosting products.Online grocery store Grofers said orders on its platform across Delhi have more than doubled since the lockdown announcement. “While there might be consumer anxiety and panic buying, we reassure our consumers that our seller partners have sufficient stock of all products to serve everyone,” a company spokesperson told ET.