The
It has also pushed education about vaccines that have allowed its overall vaccination rates to be above the general population in most of its markets.
But the company has stopped short of requiring in-store employees to be vaccinated, but does not rule out doing so in the future.
“The situation is changing so quickly. I can't say we never will," CEO
Earlier, Hannasch told analysts during a conference call about first-quarter results that he was optimistic for much of the quarter that the pandemic was waning.
"Yet now we're once again carefully watching the spread of the virus, and again, reinforcing health and safety measures in our stores, as well as promoting vaccinations to protect our team members and our customers."
He said the renewed situation continues to impact its supply chain and has magnified the most difficult staffing environment he's seen in his career, particularly in southern
Hannasch said the company is working hard to maintain staffing levels by focusing on online hiring and using a centralized recruiting process to fill 20,000 open positions.
"We've also put in place retention bonuses and focused on better training and onboarding, making sure that those who want to come in the door, understand the job and are able to do it."
He expects the variant will delay many employer return-to-work plans that will hurt its morning commute business.
While traffic patterns are improving, Hannasch said he remains cautious as the variant is impacting many of its
Hannasch added that hurricane Ida, which battered
Analyst
"This is similar to what we have been hearing from other retailers and appears to be a challenge across the retail landscape. This, coupled with cost pressures related to both commodity price increases and wage inflation, is likely to challenge margins modestly over the near term."
Company co-founder and executive chairman
"As we hear in the news, variants of the virus are still haunting our global family. Despite it all, however, we recognize the great promise of the vaccines for our lives and businesses and to a return to normal," he said.
The retailer beat expectations even though its net profit slipped in the first quarter of its financial year despite a 40 per cent increase in revenues.
It reported after markets closed on Tuesday that it earned
Adjusted earnings fell 4.7 per cent to
Revenue for the three months ended
— With files from
This report by
Companies in this story: (TSX:ATD.B)
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