British retailer Marks & Spencer said some stores have been left short of some food items as it continues to grapple with a “cyber incident”.
M&S, one of the best known names in British business, stopped taking clothing and home orders through its website and app following problems with contactless pay and click and collect services over the Easter holiday weekend.
An M&S spokesperson said that as part of its “proactive management of the incident” it had taken some its systems temporarily offline.
“As a result, we currently have pockets of limited availability in some stores. We are working hard to get availability back to normal across the estate,” the spokesperson added.
While M&S has not disclosed the nature of the cyber incident, cyber security experts have said the fact that M&S took systems offline suggested it was likely a ransomware-related event.
The spokesperson declined to say when online orders are expected to resume.
The 141-year old M&S, which has about 1000 stores across Britain, makes around one third of its clothing and home sales online.
Analysts have said a short term profit hit is inevitable.
M&S’s food business had been trading well prior to the cyber incident.
Market researcher Kantar said that spending on groceries at M&S grew by 14.4 percent in the 12 weeks to April 20 year-on-year.