Retailers/Co-op/News

Co-op news

22 November 2018
Co-op is set to roll out fully compostable carrier bags to over 1,000 food stores. This comes after a trial in 22 of its Manchester stores earlier this year. Eliminating 60 million plastic carrier bags Co-op’s new compostable bags are priced at 5p, the same price as the conventional single-use plastic bags that they will replace. The move will see around 60 million plastic carrier bags elim...
07 November 2018
Co-op has announced plans for a new £45m distribution centre to support its ongoing growth. Delivering on store opening plans Co-op is currently on-track to open 100 new stores in 2018. The new facility, which will be in Bedfordshire’s Symmetry Park, Biggleswade, will support the retailer’s growth across London, the South, and the South East of England. Construction of the distribution cent...
01 November 2018
Co-op has opened a new concept store in Manchester Piccadilly station to cater for the growing trend in shoppers buying food 'on the go'. More focus on food-to-go The new-look 'On the go' store places increased focus on food ranges suitable for shoppers who want to grab breakfast, lunch or dinner on the go.  It features extended food ranges to appeal to health conscious consumers in...
25 October 2018
The Co-op has re-launched its in-store radio station with a service that allows retailers to select content relevant to the local area.  The new service, developed by Imagesound, replaces a 'one-size-fits-all' satellite transmission with a more targeted digital approach. Regional content Retailers will be able to select from a tailored music library including regional artists, as well as co...
27 September 2018
The Co-op has announced that it will stop using single-use carrier bags. 60 million plastic carrier bags will be removed in a phased roll-out and replaced with an environmentally friendly alternative. Lightweight compostable carrier bags, which can be used to carry shopping home and then be re-used as food waste caddy liners, will be rolled out to almost 1,400 Co-op food stores, initially in t...
25 September 2018
The Co-op has announced the acquisition of Dimec, a healthcare technology start-up.  The acquisition aims to enable Co-op to compete effectively in the UK healthcare market, a natural fit with Co-op’s existing business areas in food, insurance and later life. A technology-enabled healthcare platform Dimec has developed a digital solution that enables patients and GPs to interact and manage ...
14 September 2018
The Co-op has announced strong interim results for the first half of the year. Sales increased by 10% to £5 billion, whilst group profit increased by £12 million to £26 million. 18th consecutive quarter of LFL growth Food Retail like-for-like sales saw an increase of 4.4%, the 18th consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth. Total food sales were up 3%, now at £3.6 billion, tha...
22 August 2018
The Co-op has enjoyed its fastest rate of growth in nearly seven years, according to the latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel. Sales increased by 7.8% for the 12 weeks to 12 August 2018, driven by consumers’ preference to shop locally during the good summer weather.  Co-op market share increases During the period, Co-op attracted an additional 263,000 new shoppers thro...
17 August 2018
Trade press reports, quoting figures from Barbour ABI, the construction data industry specialist, show that Co-op currently has the largest number of new sites in development of any UK grocery retailer.  The data shows that Co-op submitting planning applications for 34 new stores in the first six months of 2018.  In the same period Co-op actually completed 21 new openings. Targeting 100 new st...
05 July 2018
Costcutter's new supply deal with Co-op has now been rolled out to all stores in its network, putting an end to over six months of contingency arrangements, in the wake of the collapse of former distribution partner Palmer & Harvey.  The turbulence of the last year saw some 400 stores leave the symbol group, leaving the total number in the network at 1,776 at the end of 2017.  However, it has con...