Central England Co-op stores enjoy major sales boost during Christmas and New Year
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 18/01/2018
Strong convenience store sales helped Central England Co-operative enjoy a positive performance over the 2017 Christmas and New Year period.
The Society saw like-for-like sales growth of 2.4% for the three weeks ending 6th January 2018, with sales in the core convenience store business increasing by an impressive 6.2 % compared to the same three weeks in 2016.
Figures also revealed that Christmas Eve generated the Society’s highest ever Sunday sales – over £3 million - and in the week leading up to Christmas sold 14,000 turkeys, up 2% on last year.
The Christmas period saw particularly strong performance across a range of products including sales of 250,000 tubs of chocolate, 150,000 packs of mince pies and 100,000 advent calendars.
Other high performing products included the ‘Irresistible’ premium range as well as floral gifts, with over £350,000 worth of flowers and plants sold in the run up to the festive season.
Central England Co-operative members and customers were provided with a great range of quality festive food products and excellent availability levels, all supported by the fantastic commitment of colleagues throughout the Christmas and New Year trading period.
The Society also supported the communities in and around stores as part of its #beingcoopy campaign. This included over 60,000 items being donated by people into special Christmas Foodbanks, providing nearly 20,000 meals to those in need this winter.
Martyn Cheatle, Chief Executive at Central England Co-operative, said: “Everyone involved with Central England Co-operative is proud of our Christmas and New Year strong sales figures.
“These results have come about due to a combination of the hard work and dedication of all of colleagues, an excellent range of quality products and the expert planning that went into our strategy for the festive period.
“We are also delighted by the amazing response to our #beingcoopy campaign and are so proud to be able to make a difference in our communities.
“I would like to thank all colleagues, customers and members for their support during this very busy period.”
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, 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 2018.
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 members 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 / Heather Clapton at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop