The boss of Iceland says hard-up customers are telling his checkout staff to stop when they hit £40 - and then putting the rest back on the shelves. Managing director Richard Walker today admitted his discount chain is losing custom to food banks after a loaf of bread rose from 89p to £1.10 and milk prices shot up "quite dramatically".
Mr Walker blamed a “perfect maelstrom of inflationary pressures” - despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak “stepping up” and “pulling the right levers” with a £650 payment for benefit claimants, and £400 off electricity bills. He added many of the problems were global in nature, due to factors like the Ukraine war affecting wheat and oil.
He told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "Everyone's feeling the pinch but certainly the harder-pressed communities are feeling it more. Generally, I think it is safe to say everyone is feeling the pinch now, it doesn't matter who you are.
“We do serve some of the poorer demographics around the country. We are hearing stories of some of our custom disappearing to food banks. Some customers when they are at the till asking the cashier when it amounts to 40 quid so that they can leave the rest of their shopping.
"The reality is there is no typical Iceland shopper, averages don't work very well because we have people who come in and spend five quid and people who come in and spend £50."
He added: “I think the Government, the Chancellor in particular, has really stepped up and pulled the right levers.
“They already had over £20 billion of support before this additional £20 billion of latest packages so certainly huge intervention there by the Government and actually we have got to take a step back and realise a lot of these pressures are global in nature and outside of the influence of the Government of the day or businesses like ours.
“So I think they have done plenty, actually, for the general public and hopefully it will ease the pain and the burden as we get into the autumn as inflation may peak. There is a tonne of stuff I would like him (Mr Sunak) to do for business, I don’t know how he is going to afford it or we are all going to pay for it but, I think at the moment they are doing a good job.”
