Central England Co-op returning store opening hours to normal based on customer feedback

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 22/05/2020

Central England Co-op is today announcing that opening hours at its stores are returning to normal as customers get used to shopping during these uncertain times.

The retailer, which has over 240 stores across 16 counties, originally reduced its opening hours in March to allow colleagues time to replenish shelves with food and essentials for the local community.

Now, with extensive social distancing measures in place across all stores, the retailer is in the process of returning its opening hours to normal based on feedback from customers.

Paul Dennis, Retail Director at Central England Co-op, said: “I would like to thank our Members and customers for their support during these uncertain times.
“We have all had to change the way we shop to keep our colleagues and customers safe and we continue to monitor and update what we are doing in our stores to ensure this remains the case.

“With that in mind we have listened to the feedback of our customers and this is why we are returning the opening hours of our stores to normal.

“Our supply lines have been great during the Coronavirus pandemic and our shelves stocked with all the food and essentials our communities need.

“Thank you to our customers once again for their continued support and also to our hardworking colleagues who continue to go above and beyond.”

Customers can find out up-to-date opening times for their local store by visiting https://stores.centralengland.coop/

The retailer has already rolled out a range of other measures in stores aimed at keeping customers and colleagues safe including social distancing, gloves and hand sanitiser, over 1,000 checkout screens, 7,000 face visors for colleagues and over 150 security guards to help with queues.

People can keep up to date with what is happening in their local community by visiting a dedicated online hub at www.centralengland.coop/updates

Notes to editors

Picture caption: Paul Dennis, Retail Director at Central England Co-op.

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral, travel and property investment.

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish. 

Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 430 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. 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop