Positive sales growth and strong investment at Central England Co-op in the first half of 2017

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 05/10/2017

Central England Co-operative has revealed an encouraging financial performance and strong investment in the first half of 2017.

The Society’s sales grew by 2.6% to 460.2 million despite operating in a highly competitive and changing retail environment.

A strong indication of the Society’s health is its ambitious growth strategy, with £19.2 million invested in the first half of the year.

This has seen the core food business and funeral arm of the Society grow significantly, with further new openings and refurbishments planned for the second half of the year and on into 2018.

Highlights include:

• Gross sales of £460.2 million, a rise of 2.6 % on the previous year
• Capital expenditure of £19.2 million, up from £14.2 million in 2016
• Strong cash generation of £24.6 million, consistent with the previous year
• £2.6 million distributed to members, colleagues and the community
• Five new food stores and four funeral homes opened and a further 25 refitted as part of a major, on-going refurbishment programme
• Fifty-two groups shared over £100,000 from the Society’s Community Dividend Fund
• £1.5 million fund-raising target raised for Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children and Dementia UK chosen as new corporate charity partner by colleagues
• Over 1,000 hours of colleague time donated to a wide variety of volunteering projects

Chief Executive Martyn Cheatle said: “We are encouraged by our progress and have a clear strategy in place to respond to the challenges and opportunities ahead.

“With the support of our fantastic colleagues, we remain committed to delivering sustainable growth for the benefit of our members, customers and local communities.

“We expect the trading environment to remain challenging and highly competitive for the foreseeable future, but are remain confident in our strategy and our co-operative point of difference which enables us to provide a relevant and attractive proposition to our members and customers.”

The food retail arm of the business enjoyed a positive performance, with further like-for-like sales growth in its convenience stores and strong trading during key periods such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter. The Society was also encouraged by customer satisfaction showing continued improvement.

The Society’s strong investment programme continued apace and included the £500k refurbishment of three stores in Wooldale, West Yorkshire, following the transfer of engagement with Wooldale Co-operative Society in July.

The Society’s funeral operations further progressed with a pre-paid funeral plan offering via tailored marketing campaigns and continued investment in innovative refurbishment of funeral homes, this against a backdrop of a highly competitive market place.

In terms of specialist business, the Society’s 19 Travel shops have traded positively in 2017, with the niche holiday sector and tailor-made holidays performing well.

As a responsible business, Central England Co-operative is proud to have launched a variety of initiatives to benefit communities and the environment.   These have included signing a pledge to tackle the stigma of mental health in the workplace and continuing work to reduce its carbon footprint, which has fallen by 35.8% since 2010.

Central England Co-operative will report on its full year performance at the end of January 2018.

A full copy of the interim report can be read online at: https://www.centralengland.coop/assets/documents/Interim_Report_2017_Digital_Aug17.pdf

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’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 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