Yahoo Finance WHSmith to sell groceries in hospitals to help NHS workers
WHSmith is rolling out a range of Sainsbury’s groceries and essentials in its hospital branches, in a bid to help NHS workers amid the coronavirus crisis.
The retailer (SMWH.L) is working with Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L) to expand its stocks, bringing in essentials from the supermarket such as long-life food, pasta and toilet roll.
The changes will affect 80 of its branches inside NHS hospitals.
WHSmith announced the changes on Twitter on Tuesday, saying it was “proud to support the incredible work of the NHS throughout this challenging time.”
Read more: Record £10.8bn spent on groceries in ‘March madness’
It added: “We hope this goes some way to making life a little easier for these amazing people.”
The retailer also already offers NHS staff a 20% discount. Some supermarkets have already introduced special shopping hours for NHS workers.
There is concern often long and antisocial shifts leave staff facing empty shelves at supermarkets, as consumers have stockpiled and now face queues to shop under COVID-19 social distancing measures.
Several NHS workers’ stories and photos of empty shelves have gone viral in recent weeks.
Read more: The psychology and economic fallout from panic buying
Figures published on Tuesday showed shoppers spent a record £10.8bn ($13bn) on groceries in the UK in March.
Initial fears over supply chain disruption or potential self-isolation have snowballed into mass stockpiling, and demand has soared further with millions of workers and children now at home.
Market research firm Kantar Worldpanel said grocery sales in the UK had risen by 20.6% over the last four weeks. The unusually large growth makes March the biggest month on record for grocery sales.
