Gap, Asos and AO are three of the latest retailers to warn of the impact of supply chain challenges on their businesses this week.
Gap has lowered its 2021 projection after reporting a loss due to supply chain challenges impacting sales and expenses. It said it was using increased air freight and port diversification to try to mitigate the challenges.
AO also reported a loss and cut its full-year profit guidance this week as a result of supply chain disruption. It warned of poor availability in some categories and said this would lead to “significantly softer” sales. AO is working closely with manufacturing partners and has recruited around 500 new drivers as it tries to better cope with demand.
The company’s CEO and founder John Roberts admitted that small consumer electricals had been worst hit by the supply chain issues.
At Asos the retailer is claimed to have been delaying orders from suppliers. Externally this has been blamed externally on labour shortages in Asos’s warehouse. However the fashion retailer says that the delays are the result of the global freight disruption. It said that a small number of orders had been deferred but that this was normal practise for retailers.
