When the coronavirus pandemic began in the United States, consumers rushed to purchase products like toilet paper, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes, quickly leaving shelves empty.
The CEO and Chairman of Clorox, Benno Dorer, said that though the company is working to produce more, Americans should expect that shelves won’t be fully stocked with Clorox wipes until summer.
“We think that there’s going to be substantial improvement this summer [in availability],” Dorer told Yahoo Finance. “It’s going to be touch and go until then, unfortunately. But help is on the way, and I think things should ease up in the next few months.”
Dorer said the company, which has seen a significant increase in sales during the pandemic, is “investing in further capacity” to speed up production.
“There was an issue early on [with price gouging], but it's gotten a lot better. I see very little now — I check every single day and I don't find anything right now,” he said.
Price gouging has become common during the coronavirus crisis, as third-party sellers look to profit off the high demand for and short supply of sanitation products.
“So to be very clear, we do not condone price gouging, we want to make sure that consumers at all times are able to buy our products at the regular prices, especially during this time during the pandemic,” Dorer said. “We're continuing to monitor the situation, we're continuing to get people offline, every now and then it keeps popping up. But I would say it's no longer a broad scale issue.”
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.
Source: Read Full Article