The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian bottled water supplier yesterday said the coronavirus pandemic has sparked "pandemonium" among consumers with online delivery orders soaring four times' higher than normal levels.

Christian Knowles, Aquapure's senior manager, told Tribune Business that the situation was one "for the record books" as current demand for the company's products - at food stores, water depots and its premises, as well as online - had more than doubled beyond typical levels for this time of year.

Arguing that "fear is king" when it comes to Bahamian consumer behaviour, Mr Knowles said Aquapure had been "fortunate" in deciding to maintain high inventory levels during the slower winter season as this had enabled it to meet the COVID-19 surge for bottled water products.

He revealed that the manufacturer was now trying to stay ahead of the game by looking at alternative supply channels because the demand spike meant the raw materials it employs, such as the bottles themselves, had "taken quite a hit" in recent days.

Mr Knowles said five gallon bottle returns, which he described as Aquapure's "bread and butter" product, were being moved through the company's cleansing process and put "back in line" ready to go out full on delivery trucks within 30-40 minutes to increase the frequency with which drivers are out on the road and ensure it kept up with consumer requirements.

"It's been pandemonium, but we've been getting it done as quickly and as best we can," he told Tribune Business. "The only thing I can compare it to is hurricane season; like there's a storm upon us. It's been quite quite hectic.

"We're used to this. There are cars parked on the side of the road, and there's a line that's quite long. We're used to dealing with it though." Aquapure and other Bahamian bottled water manufacturers have effectively been under siege for several days, with vehicle queues lining the roads outside their premises, as households stock up on essentials amid the continuing coronavirus uncertainty.

Food stores and water depots have frequently run out of stock, with Mr Knowles describing the panic buying spree as "unprecedented" compared to whenever The Bahamas has been confronted by a major hurricane.

Asked by this newspaper to compare present demand to what Aquapure normally encounters at this time of year, Mr Knowles said sales had "a little bit more than doubled" when set against the norm.

"We have an online marketplace where people can go and order for deliveries on the website, and we've seen that go up above four times' what it usually is. Everybody wants it now, now, now," he disclosed.

"The most difficult thing is to explain to people: 'Take a breath, we're doing the best we can right now, we will get all customers supplied as best we can, and just bear with us'. They don't know what the Government is going to do. They see everywhere shutting down. Canada is shutting down its borders, and they are talking about that in Germany, France and Europe.

"They're seeing that across the world, and thinking The Bahamas may shut down as well. I don't get the sense that's imminent, but there is a lot of cynicism - as there is throughout the world - over what the Government is telling us, when it's telling us, and where it's telling us."

Mr Knowles added that a warehouse "bursting at the seams" had enabled Aquapure to cope with coronavirus-related demand, and said: "We've had some good stock. Usually our busy time is summer. We always start to see an upturn in sales and the end of March/beginning of April, and May through August our our busiest months.

"What we did, fortunately, through our slow time - which is usually October through mid-March - I said to the production staff let's maintain a glut in the warehouse to keep efficiency and so we can keep things running. We don't want to cut shifts; let's maintain a high level of output.

"We manufactured quite a lot, and we were bursting at the seams in the warehouse. Fortunately, that meant we were able to keep up with demand."

Mr Knowles, though, said he was now "trying to work around other supply avenues" to ensure Aquapure has everything necessary to ride out the coronavirus pandemic after its raw materials "took quite a hit" from the recent panic buying. "I'm not at a critical point now but I like to be proactive," he added, "as we're getting twice as much demand as normal."

The Aquapure chief added that many overseas suppliers appeared to be holding back stock to meet needs in their domestic markets as opposed to exporting product and components overseas, which could impact some Bahamas-based businesses.

"This is for the record books," Mr Knowles told Tribune Business of the current situation. "I'd be lying if I didn't say that. I don't think anyone has seen this in recent memory. The only thing this can compare to - there's a lot of talk about Spanish flu and the plagues of old.

"While a lot of people will recover [from the coronavirus], the fear that permeates everything is king right now. We'll get through it. I'm very hopeful the country, Aquapure as a company, and the Bahamian people will get through this. We're very resilient when it comes to that.

"It's pretty hectic at Aquapure right now but we're used to this, which is good. We've had a lot of practice, put it that way."