The Co-op is a consumer co-operative with more than 50,000 employees in over 3,000 locations across the country — including grocery stores, insurance services and funeral parlors — and reported making around £161 million ($212 million) in profits before tax over the last financial year, with revenues of around £11.3 billion ($14.9 billion). Retail staff who spoke to Recorded Future News on Monday morning said that deliveries from the Co-op’s large depots were running at well below 20% of their normal capacity, which was why shelves were running empty. A spokesperson for the Co-op said: “All our stores are open and trading and we are now making deliveries to all of our stores, flowing in an increased level of fresh, chilled and frozen products alongside cupboard essentials. Grocery shelves at the Co-op retail chain are increasingly depleted in spots across the United Kingdom as the company continues to respond to an attempted cyberattack detected two weeks ago. Recorded Future News understands that the company fears the hackers still have access to its network and is keeping some critical logistics systems offline, preventing shops from getting resupplied with many goods. Because of the complexities involved in pushing goods through retail supply-chains, the staff members said that even if the logistics systems were recovered immediately it would take weeks before shelves began to fill again. In a subsequent statement published on the Co-op’s website, its chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq acknowledged “significant disruption” as a result of the cyberattack and confirmed that customer and member data was compromised. Supplies of certain perishables, particularly animal products (meat, poultry, eggs, milk), are being prioritized for delivery due to strict laws around how they must be disposed of when past their sell-by dates. We are working around the clock to reduce disruption and are pleased [to] have resumed delivery of stock to our shelves,” the spokesperson added. As the company is owned by its members rather than publicly listed, it is not required to make any declaration to the London stock exchange about the expected adverse financial impact of the attack.
This Cyber News was published on therecord.media. Publication date: Mon, 12 May 2025 12:29:59 +0000