Union Coop, the largest Consumer Cooperative in the UAE assures UAE customers. Coop appeals to the customers to avoid stockpiling. The Co-op said stocks are enough to meet demands for six months …. Reports Asian Lite News
Union Coop, the largest Consumer Cooperative in the UAE, appeal to the public to stay away from stockpiling food stuffs.
Dr. Suhail Al Bastaki, Director of Happiness & Marketing Department, Union Coop denied the rumors circulated by some on social media sites that call people to stock up of foodstuff requirements.
Al Bastaki stressed the ready availability of UAE food stocks to face any unpredictable or emergency circumstances, explaining that: “In Union Coop, we have enough food stocks and other alternatives, where the consumers can order either through Home delivery service or through the Union Coop smart app.”
Al Bastaki asked the public not to circulate these strange rumors, and instead recourse to the official authorities to extract information and news update, whether through the social platforms of “Twitter” or “Instagram” or “Facebook” or from the official website.
He said: “Union Coop has a strategic commodity stock of food and non-food items sufficient for more than 6 months, explaining that the Union Coop team held prior meetings with suppliers and the countries from which it imports directly to continue to supply goods and products round the clock to meet the needs and expectations of community members.”
“The strategic cooperative plans guarantee to consumers the availability of all products in huge quantities and throughout the year, indicating that there is absolutely no need to fear that the products will run out of stock because the cooperative and retail outlets in the country in cooperation with the competent authorities worked over the past years to build a national food stock, As well as preparing resource sustainability plans,” he added.
Union Coop also confirmed that it did not receive any instruction from competent authorities to close its branches, noting that any such information being circulated through social media pages is nothing but a rumor.
Al Bastaki said that Union Coop is currently implementing all precautionary measures to combat ‘Coronavirus’ which includes comprehensive and complete sterilization of sale facilities and shelves in all outlets throughout the day, as well as implementing more extensive sterilization operations for the branches at night after the end of working hours in areas of shelves and refrigerators while protecting goods, especially food items during the sterilization.
He added that several workers were deployed to sterilize shopping carts before and after each use, in addition to providing sterilizing liquid dispensers for use by consumers at the entrances to outlets.
Al Bastaki pointed out that the Union Coop management urges shoppers not to crowd in the outlets and go to the branches that operate at night, as Union Coop offers 24-hour shopping experience in three branches of Al Twar, Umm Suqeim and Al Wasl.
He stressed that Union Coop is well prepared and is ready to work remotely when needed, whether for employees and some administrators in sales outlets or for extending Home delivery requests to consumers, pointing out that Union Coop currently provides demand through its electronic platform also and delivers to various regions of Dubai.
Al Bastaki stated that agreements have been concluded with various suppliers and companies to ensure the continuous flow of materials and to maintain the stock in Union Coop warehouses, which is sufficient for long periods of up to 6 months for basic food and consumer goods, pointing out that there are offers of discounts on different food commodities.
Sanitation Process
The demand for hand sanitizer and similar products is surging, prompting Union Coop to ration supplies and taking necessary steps to ensure smooth shopping experience for the consumers.
Emphasizing on the situation, Al Bastaki, said: “Personal care supplies, especially hand sanitizers are available in sufficient quantities that meet the need of shoppers in all Union Coop branches. We repeatedly stress that sanitizer prices have not seen any rise or any change as it violates Union Coop’s policy and is against the strategic objectives aimed at building a sustainable national economy that promotes food security and inventory.”
Al Bastaki assured the consumers that Union Coop is taking every step to curb malpractices such price tampering, as he said: “Union Coop is coordinating with the concerned authorities in the country to prevent the manipulation of the prices of goods in general and personal care supplies,” noting that Union Coop operates within strategic plans to deal with such circumstances.
Dr. Al-Bastaki called on the public not to be concerned about the lack of food and non-food commodities or personal care supplies, noting that Union Coop has a strategic stock of these materials, and meetings were held last month with suppliers and factories to ensure the continued availability of goods and products.
