By Aimee Chanthadavong
In a bid to help Queensland’s flood-affected victims get their lives back to normal, Woolworths and Coles supermarkets in Rockhampton will be re-stocked to help meet the immediate needs of residents facing a long period of isolation.
The Queensland government has called in the assistance of the Australian Defence Force to resupply the stores with non-perishable items.
"It is anticipated there will be up to four trips today, with each trip transporting 15 pallets of goods,” Premier Anna Bligh said in a statement.
Working with the government, the Australian National Retailer's Association (ANRA) continues to also help identify the areas most in need of help and provide support to get trucks through as quickly as possible.
Margey Osmond, ANRA CEO, told Retailbiz it’s very much a logistics-based exercise that requires efficient communication between the government and retailers.
“Our outcome is to support the communities that have been great supporters of the major retailers for such a long time,” she said.
“We want to provide those communities access to essential items such as and toilet paper, baby formula, bottled water, pasta and rice and the Premier has been hugely supportive because after all Coles and Woolworths are one of the best in dealing with logistics.”