Central England Co-op enjoys strong Christmas and New Year thanks to positive convenience store sales

Posted by james brindle | Published: 22/01/2019


Central England Co-op can today reveal that strong sales in its convenience stores saw it achieve a positive performance during the 2018 Christmas and New Year period.

The Society saw like-for-like sales growth of 4.1% for the three key festive trading weeks ending 5 January across its convenience estate.

This resulted in overall like-for-like sales rising by 1.5% across the whole Society.

The retailer also saw Christmas Eve generate its highest ever turnover day of 2018 and the highest ever recorded on a Monday, with a figure of £3.8 million.

The Christmas period saw particularly strong performance across a range of products including confectionery, mince pies and Prosecco, as well a spike in everyday items ranging from cling film and lemons to milk and teabags being recording on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

The Christmas period also saw kind-hearted shoppers donate over 75,000 items as part of its annual Food Bank Appeal, allowing for over 30,000 meals to be created for people in need during the festive period.

Martyn Cheatle, Chief Executive at Central England Co-operative, said: “The whole team at Central England Co-operative are proud of these strong sales figures.

“Despite the tough environment we trade in, our expert planning, great products and the dedication and hard work of our colleagues have helped deliver these results.

“We would also like to say a massive thank you to anyone who supported our Christmas Food Bank Appeal as this helped make a major difference to people in need across our trading area.

“I would like to thank all colleagues, customers and members for their support during this very busy period.”

The Society also said ‘thank you’ to its customers and members by giving away 20,000 prizes, including a £3,000 holiday, as part of a special Because of You Christmas campaign.

 

 

Notes to editors

 

Picture caption: Chief Executive at Central England Co-operative Martyn Cheatle

 

About Central England Co-operative

 

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. 

 

It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, travel shops, and property investment.

 

Central England Co-operative has over 400 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2019.

 

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

 

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to member activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

 

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

 

Rob Smyth and James Brindle at Central England Co-operative on 01543 421390

 

Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop