Clorox Chairman and CEO Benno Dorer says in wake of the coronavirus pandemic it will take some time for the company’s disinfectant wipes to be back in stock across the country.
Dorer told NBC's "Today" the company has increased production by 40% but still can't keep the products in stock.
Dorer said a 500% spike in demand means the stock won’t be back on shelves until summer.
“We know that right now we cannot make enough products for everybody to find products at the store all the time,” Dorer said. “But we’re making tremendous progress. We think we will be in substantially better shape by the summer.”
Dorer said Clorox has increased production to 24 hours a day.
"We have significantly increased our production. We've done so by simplifying our lineup, which allows our lines to run faster. We turned out 40% more products last quarter than we did in the previous year's quarter," Dorer told Yahoo Finance. "We're activating party suppliers who produce for us to help us. And we're investing in further capacity. So we continue to find new ways to speed up our lines and find capacity."
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Carleton Mitchell, who spoke with NBC News, has worked for Clorox for 22 years and is a department crew leader in Atlanta.
“When I came to work, it was a job,” Mitchell said. “I clocked out, and I went home. Just entirely different now. Now when I come in, it's not just a normal 9-to-5 job anymore. It's a mission now.”
Lysol, which also makes disinfectant wipes, posted a statement about the demand on Twitter on April 15.
“As demand remains extraordinarily high, we recognize that it is difficult to locate products that you may be looking for,” the company said. “We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and ask that you hang in there with us!”
The Wall Street Journal reported that, according to Nielsen, Lysol and Clorox sanitizing wipes sales have more than doubled.
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