Leicestershire-based distribution hub shifts out more than 140,000 tins of sweets and so much more
Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 15/12/2016
This time of year people like to enjoy a little extra special food and drink, and Central England Co-operative is ready and able to make sure stores are full of treats and essentials this festive season.
Colleagues at the Society’s Food Distribution Centre, in Leicester, have been working hard in the run up to the festive season to ensure shelves are stocked with everything ranging from tubs of chocolates to greetings cards.
Teams have been working around the clock to shift a whopping 61,000 tubs of Celebrations and nearly 81,000 tubs and boxes of Miniature Heroes.
Lee Dundee, Distribution Centre Manager, said: “The team have been working flat out around the clock to ensure that our customers have the best Christmas ever.”
What many people don’t know is that Christmas does not just gradually appear as the nights grow darker and the temperature drops.
Planning begins at the beginning of each year, as items such as this year’s hottest drink Prosecco need to be ordered many months in advance as it is shipped across via boat from Italy.
While many people will not even think of Christmas until December, the team at the Food Distribution Centre, which at 120,000 sq ft equals the size of six Olympic swimming pools, start working in August.
So while many are either on holiday or enjoying the sunshine, staff are sending out sweets and chocolates months ahead of schedule in preparation of the festive rush.
And when most people will be getting ready to enjoy Christmas Day, staff at the Food Distribution Centre will be spending Christmas Eve preparing to send out Easter eggs!
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 projected gross sales of £958million for 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. Central England Co-operative has more than 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. The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2015/16.
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.
For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth / Jo Baldock at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop