Shelves in some Family Mart outlets are now becoming bare and some shops have stated they are having to wait up to three days for supplies to arrive.
Tim Soongsom, Manager of one of the Family Mart stores on Soi Ta-iad, Chalong, told The Phuket News, “The floods have started to have some affect on deliveries to our store. We are now having to wait three to four days for deliveries and this is now leaving some shelves empty.
“The main items that we are now running short of is fresh produce and items with a short shelf life, such as milk,” she said.
“Our main depot is located in Pathum Thani province (outside Bangkok), but items are relayed from there to a depot in Surat Thani and are then distributed throughout the southern provinces.
“It appears that the delays are with the deliveries between Pathum Thani and Surat Thani,” she added.
The manager of a second mini-mart in Phuket Town who did not want to be named told The Phuket News, “There are around 130 mini-marts around Phuket and some of these are running very low, or have run out of fresh produce, including ready-to-eat food. However, other products are still readily available.
A small retailer who has a grilled pork shop on Yaowarat Rd in Phuket Town added, “The flooding has had an effect on deliveries of the goods I need for my shop, mainly pork.
“I am now having to wait up to three days for my delivery of frozen pork. I am worried that the produce will not be fit to eat by the time I receive it,” she said.
When contacted by a reporter from The Phuket News, representatives from 7-Eleven Thailand declined to comment about the effect the floods were having on their deliveries or the state of supplies within their stores.
On Tuesday (Jan 10), representatives from major retailers in Phuket including Tesco-Lotus, Big C and Makro reported only minimal effects on deliveries of fresh produce and products to the island in the wake of the floods. (See story here.)