Yahoo Finance Supermarkets hit by Walkers crisps shortages after IT glitch
Some of Britain's best-known crisps are missing from supermarket shelves after Walkers was once again hit by an IT glitch.
Around a fifth of all Walkers crisps normally on sale at Tesco appeared out of stock on the supermarket's website on Tuesday morning, while around an eighth of those on sale at Asda were not in stock at some stores.
A spokesman for Walkers said: "We experienced a short-term IT issue which led to the supply of our crisps and snacks being more limited than usual."
They added that "availability of our brands in shops remains good so crisp fans can continue to enjoy their favourite snacks".
It comes months after Walkers was hit by an IT issue at its factory that "disrupted the supply of some of our products". Last November, a botched IT system upgrade resulted in a nationwide crisp shortage. Almost one third of shops were left running short of crisps after Walkers was forced to scale back production.
News of the latest disruption comes amid a focus on supermarket supplies and gaps on shelves.
Many Heinz products remain out of stock at Tesco stores after a stand-off between the two over pricing. The pair resolved the issue late last week, with new deliveries of baked beans and tomato ketchup expected to start appearing in stores over the coming days.
Heinz is understood to have asked for 30pc price increases for some products, which Tesco resisted. The supermarket eventually agreed to pay more for the products.
The pair last week issued a joint statement in which they said the "full range of Heinz products [will] return to Tesco shelves and online".
Tesco has also been facing pressure over its pet food supply, after brands including Whiskas, Dreamies and Pedigree last week started disappearing from shelves.
A spokesman for the supermarket suggested it was a similar wrangling over a price increase by Whiskas owner Mars Petcare, and said it was "sorry that this means some products aren’t available right now, but we have plenty of alternatives to choose from and we hope to have this issue resolved soon".
