Food City Chief Executive Steve Smith on Tuesday warned shoppers against hoarding items, calling on customers to buy for their weekly needs.
Also, the CEO of the Chattanooga area's largest grocer said it has "pretty much" hired the 2,500 new employees it announced a few weeks ago that it would need to meet the surge in customer buying amid the coronavirus.
Smith, in a teleconference, said that while it's human nature to be alarmed about shortages of items, Food City is obtaining most of the products it needs for its stores.
"Let me stress how important it is to shop as you need these items," he said. "Please don't hoard. Please shop for your weekly shopping needs."
Smith said the supply chain of goods in the U.S. has been "severely tested" over the past four weeks.
Sales of bathroom tissue at Food City were up 80% last week over the same period a year ago, he said. Paper towel sales were up 101%, Smith said. Sales of household cleaners were up 132%, Smith said.
He expected that items such as sanitizers and disinfectants will be in short supply in the near future as will paper products, though the grocery chain continues to receive the goods.
Smith said Food City will start providing its employees with face masks likely next week, though they're already permitted to wear them if they have the safety item.
"The safety of our customers and workers is primary," he said. Smith said the company has a dedicated person at the front of each of its stores in Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky sanitizing shopping carts during the day.
The company also has set up Plexiglas screens for social distancing purposes at cashier checkouts, he said.
Smith said he didn't think the chain will need to start limiting the number of people in its stores at one time. If shoppers follow the guidelines in place responsibly, "I don't think we'll get into a position to limit the number of people we let in."
Walmart and Kroger are among the grocery retailers which have instituted one-way aisles and limits on customer count in stores to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to Supermarket News.
Walmart started one-way movement through aisles at an undisclosed number of stores, with shoppers being guided by floor markers and direction from associates, industry publication said.
Kroger announced customer capacity limits. Starting this week, the retailer said it will restrict the number of shoppers to 50% of the international building code's calculated capacity.
In addition, Smith said plans are to restart newspaper advertising the week after Easter.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.