Central England Co-operative spends over £3 million opening and relaunching six stores and a new funeral home in just one week
Posted by rob smyth | Published: 29/05/2017
Central England Co-operative is continuing its ambitious investment programme by spending over £3 million opening and relaunching six food stores and a funeral home in the space of a week.
The Society’s growth strategy has seen new stores opened in Horsley Woodhouse and Inkersall, Derbyshire, and Measham, Leicestershire.
These new stores have been supplemented by the relaunch of three refurbished stores in Chesterfield, Little Eaton, Derbyshire, and Fradley, Staffordshire.
A new funeral home, in Stone Road, Stafford, has also been officially opened with a vastly superior look and feel for families.
All six food stores offer a wide range of products and services to meet the needs of local residents.
They have also seen the installation of the latest in pioneering new energy efficient refrigeration technologies to minimise environmental impact and LED lighting.
A total of £3.2 million has been spent on the seven projects in total.
This latest investment comes on the back of record capital investment of over £45 million in 2016/17.
This included the opening of nine new food stores, four new funeral homes and significant refurbishment activity across the business.
All of the new store openings have been supported with a special golden ticket away, which has seen hundreds of customers walking away with everything from a 50” TV and a coffee machine to Co-operative gift vouchers and Irresistible Fairtrade chocolate bars.
Gary Bonsall, Inkersall Central England Co-operative Store Manager, said: “Our team were so excited to finally allow our members and customers to see our new stores.”
Funeral Director Ruth Johnson said: “Our first priority is to enhance memories and love for all of our families and we are very pleased to offer that at Stafford Funeral Home.
“We feel it reflects our commitment to providing excellent standards of care for our families during their time of bereavement.”
Central England Co-operative already has plans to continue its investment programme during the rest of 2017 and into 2018.
Notes to editors
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 gross sales of £927 million in 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are 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 2017.
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 Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children 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