Stew Leonard’s popular amid test scramble
Store caps purchases, expects COVID test shipment this week
A long line stretched across the front of Stew Leonard’s throughout the New Year’s holiday weekend as the Norwalk store was among the few in the area with an ample supply of at-home COVID tests.
But by the end of the weekend, Stew Leonard’s supply had been exhausted as well.
Similar scenes have played out across Connecticut with the demand for COVID testing outpacing supply as the state’s positivity rate reaches new record highs each day — soaring to nearly 24 percent on Tuesday.
Stew Leonard’s stores in Norwalk, Danbury and Newington became a destination for people searching for at-home COVID tests in the past week as the state has struggled to distribute enough free kits and other retailers have quickly run out of supplies.
“It’s hard to say if we are getting shipments more frequently than other retailers,” said Meghan Bell, a spokesperson for Stew Leonard’s. “Our buyers are working to get the best price possible from the supplier and we’ve been selling the tests at competitive, yet reasonable, prices.”
Demand was so high at Stew Leonard’s, store managers eventually capped the amount of test kits customers could purchase, Bell said.
“At certain points over the past week, some of our stores’ managers had to make the call to restrict the number of tests being sold to each customer,” she said. “This was usually because the line was long, and we were trying to get tests into the hands of as many shoppers as possible.”
Bell did not respond to questions about how many test kits Stew Leonard’s received and sold in the past week.
Bell said Stew Leonard’s expects another shipment of tests to arrive this week and they will limit customers to purchase up to four kits, which each contain two tests.
“Our buyers are doing their best to secure the tests at a fair, competitive price and to get them out to all seven of our stores within hours,” Bell said Tuesday. “All seven Stew Leonard’s stores are currently sold out, but our buyers are still working to get a shipment this week.”
Stew Leonard’s, which also has stores in New York and New Jersey, offered Acon Laboratories’ Flowflex kits, which each contain one test, for $12.99 and $14.99 based on prices charged by its supplier, Bell said.
Stew Leonard’s also offered Access Bio CareStart test kits, which each contain two tests, for $29.99, according to Bell, who said word spread on social media in the past week about their stores having testing supplies.
“Facebook prohibits us from promoting that we have the tests, however, many of our shoppers have been posting on their personal social media pages when they find tests in stock at Stew Leonard’s,” Bell stated. “Buyers are hoping to restock again later this week.”
Stop & Shop was also sold out as of Monday and hoping to restock this week.
“Stop & Shop stores do not currently have COVID-19 test kits available due to a recent surge in demand,” spokesperson Maura O’Brien wrote in an email. “We are working closely with our suppliers to help ensure we have COVID-19 tests available for our customers in the coming weeks.”
The Food and Drug Administration has approved two-dozen types of at-home COVID test kits. Siemens Healthineers was the latest to receive approval last week and have said studies show its at-home test is effective in spotting the omicron variant.
As of Monday morning, iHealth’s $18 antigen rapid test kit was the top-seller on Amazon, followed by test kits from On/Go, Celltrion, BD Veritor, Lucira and BinaxNow.
San Diego-based Acon lists 18 distributors, including McKesson and AmerisourceBergen, which are among the largest pharmaceutical distributors in the country. Other retailers selling Flowflex kits include CVS, RiteAid and Target.
Another San Diego company, Quidel, was among the earliest manufacturers to earn FDA approval for an at-home test. On a November conference call, CEO Doug Bryant indicated he expects the company to produce twice as many test kits as called for in its original U.S. government contract.
“The unpredictability of this pandemic makes everything fluid and a firm baseline level of demand is still too early to call,” Bryant said.