Woolies CEO urges united front

WOOLWORTHS chief executive Brad Banducci has made a personal plea for the nation to beat “the delta blues together”, as he reflected on the impact on mental health of prolonged lockdowns.

In his latest CEO letter, under the heading “beating the delta blues together”, Mr Banducci

said he had read a lot of customer feedback and “the sense of frustration due to delta is palpable”.

“Our slow cooking and scratch baking adventures from last year have turned into meal shortcuts, and we’re seeing growth in chilled and frozen food categories that make life a little easier.

“We also understand that the current challenges are having an impact on our collective mental health, so it is more important than ever to look out for each other and ourselves.”

While the number of Woolworths staff in isolation had led recently to some empty shelves in supermarkets, Mr Banducci was quick to dismiss concerns of a return to last year’s panic shopping, which he referred to as the “toilet paper wars”.