The Clorox Company, the world's largest manufacturer of disinfectant and cleaning materials, can't fully supply the market with wipes and other products until next year because of overwhelming demand as a result of the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
While all kinds of disinfectant products have flown off supermarket shelves since March wipes have been in particularly high demand.
Clorox, which has 45 percent of the $1 billion disinfectant wipes market, said it had aggressively increased manufacturing of its cleaning products but supply remained insufficient
Disinfecting wipes, the fastest-selling commodity in the business right now, will "probably take longer because it is a very complex supply chain to make them," Clorox chief executive officer Benno Dorer told Reuters on Tuesday.
The company said a shortage of materials used to make the wipes had slowed production. The wipes are made with polyester spun lace, a material also used to make personal protective equipment like face masks and medical gowns.
Clorox is understocked in most of the products it manufactures, including Burt's Bees lip balm and Glad trash bags, Reuters said. While the company's supply of many products is expected to normalize, the volume of disinfectant wipes will be limited.
During an earnings call earlier this week Clorox President and CEO-elect Linda Rendle said the company may not be able to make more stock until 2021. Rendle, a 17-year veteran of Clorox, is set to be promoted to chief executive officer. She was elected to the board in September. Dorer will continue as executive chairman.
Supply for many products, including liquid bleach, will improve in the next four to six months but not wipes, Dorer said. Clorox products are used on United Airlines jets and Uber vehicles and are sold by retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Kroger.
Dorer said in May the company expected to see grocery shops stocked with wipes by the summer. Since then, Clorox has spent big to increase production each quarter.
Clorox posted a 22 percent increase in sales in its latest quarter as people stocked up on items because of the pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported.
