This week so far has certainly been a wild one for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). Yesterday, we saw the ASX kick off the new year in style with a very pleasing 1.8% gain. And while the ASX 200 went backwards slightly today (down 0.32%), it's still up a healthy 1.4% for the year so far. Unfortunately, we can't say the same for the Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price.
Coles shares have had a rather flat start to the year, despite the positive mood of the overall share market. Since New Year's Eve, Coles has fallen from $17.87 a share to the $17.71 the grocery giant closed at this afternoon. That's a drop of around 0.9%.
So what's behind this lacklustre start to 2022?
Coles share price slumps amid supply delays
Well, it's hard to say with certainty. There has been no official ASX news or announcements out of Coles so far this year. Or since before Christmas, for that matter. However, we can guess. Coles wasn't the only ASX consumer staples stock not feeling the love of the broader market today. Coles' arch-rival Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) also had a clanger, falling a nasty 1.6% to finish the day at $37.86 a share.
Both Coles and Woolworths' Wednesday misfortunes could be the result of a press statement that Woolworths put out today. This told the public that the company was "experiencing delays with some stock deliveries to our stores due to the impacts of COVID-19 across the food and grocery supply chain".
As a result, the company had this to say:
As a result [of these delays], our stores may have reduced availability of some products at points throughout the day before they receive their next delivery… we're doing all we can with our suppliers to restock our shelves as quickly as possible, with a particular focus on fresh food and essentials lines. We expect to see availability improve over the coming weeks…
While there are more gaps on our shelves than usual, we have enough stock coming through our network for customers to do a family shop.
This might trigger memories of the infamous 'hoarding' that marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020 and left supermarkets across the country with bare shelves for weeks. So it's very possible that these reports have spooked investors today and resulted in the sell-offs we see across both the Woolworths and Coles share prices. I'm sure both investors and shoppers were hoping for a slightly happier New Year.
