'Have you got these in my Suez?' Canal blockage hits shoppers

The impact of the Suez Canal container ship blockage is now being felt in the retail and insurance sectors. (Reuters)

• Next boss says blockage delays 2 percent of stock
• Reinsurance sector also feels the impact

DUBAI: The recent blockage of the Suez Canal by a massive container ship is being felt on the British High Street.
The incident has delayed the arrival of about 2 percent of stock for British fashion retailer Next, its CEO revealed on Thursday.
“It’s a problem but not a big problem. It’s delayed about 2 percent of our stock by three weeks,” CEO Simon Wolfson told Reuters.
Separately, the blockage could also trigger large reinsurance claims, adding to upward pressure on marine reinsurance rates, James Vickers, chair of reinsurance broker Willis Re International, told Reuters.
Formal investigations began this week into how the giant container ship Ever Given ran aground in the canal, shutting down shipping in the major global waterway for almost a week.
The incident and its impact on hundreds of ships delayed in the canal would be a “large loss” for insurance market Lloyd’s of London, its chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown said.