Several Co-op stores in Argyll, the Highlands and the Western Isles have been left without fresh fruit, bread, and milk after a cyber attack on the retailer.
While many mainland residents have access to alternative grocery options, island communities such as Tobermory, Skye and the Western Isles often rely on the Co-op as their only local food store.
In response, smaller independent and community-owned shops have proven their value by supplying items the Co-op has been unable to stock.
Cyber attack on the Co-op is hitting local supplies
On Skye and in other remote areas, social media has become a primary source of updates as customers share photos of empty shelves and seek reassurance from local store staff.
In Tobermory, store manager Ricky Johnston addressed customers directly: “Firstly, thank you all for your patience during this difficult time at the Co-op.
“Sorry that our stock availability is not the greatest; however, we are working hard to get stock to the store as quickly and as frequently as possible while our systems are down.”
Former local councillor Mary-Jean Devon praised the Tobermory staff, saying: “The staff have been amazing and have gone over and above.
“Ricky the manager has been great and has tried to do everything with good humour.
“They make their own bread in the store — so we’ve managed to get sourdough and rolls for people. I eat a lot of fruit, and yesterday I managed to get raspberries and strawberries. The Co-op has had milk for people too.”
Shoppers withdrawing cash for Co-op
A Tesco employee from the Western Isles, speaking anonymously, said: “Although I work at Tesco, we always shop in the Co-op.
“Supplies have been difficult, and I am seeing more people picking up the fruit and vegetables they need in Tesco. Hopefully, everything will be back to normal soon.”
He noted that some customers were withdrawing cash specifically to shop at the Co-op during the disruption
Co-op Group CEO Shirine Khoudry-Haq described the cyber attack as serious in a letter to members, saying teams are working to protect the organisation, assess the impact, and support investigations.
She confirmed that some systems had to be shut down and that hackers accessed a limited amount of member data.
‘Shop local’ as independent shops have different supply chains
On Barra, the community-run shop Buth Bharraigh has stepped up to meet demand.
Manager Sarah MacLean explained: “People need to support the smaller local businesses. We are often more resilient, as we have different supply chains.”
“When we had Asda deliveries to the island, people could get what they wanted. But when deliveries were delayed, the Co-op couldn’t meet the demand as it hadn’t planned for it.”
Calls for Lidl or Aldi to open up on Skye
In Portree, residents voiced concerns over Co-op’s dominance in the area, with some calling for other retailers like Lidl or Aldi to set up shop to break the monopoly.
Others encouraged locals to support community-owned or independent shops, which have remained stocked with essentials like fruit and vegetables.
Branches in Kyle, Broadford and two stores in Portree have been badly affected.
Rob Ware, from Sleat Community Council said: “Here in the south of Skye we are fortunate to have two amazing community-owned shops at Armadale Stores and An Crùbh, near Camuscross.
“Staff are working hard to source products from other nationwide food distributors and continue to welcome local people and visitors from across the world.”
A Co-op spokesperson said: “All our stores are open and trading however, due to the sustained malicious attempts by hackers to access our systems, we have taken proactive steps to keep our systems safe, which is temporarily impacting our colleagues’ ability to perform their roles and how many deliveries we can make to our stores.
“This means that some of our stores might not have all of their usual products available and we would like to say sorry to our members and customers if this is the case in their local store.
“We are working around the clock to reduce disruption and resume deliveries.”
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