The Co-operative Group’s managing director Tim Hurrell celebrated the number-five retailer’s 7.5 per cent market share at the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) 2010 Summit in Birmingham last week.
He said the group was well on track in re-establishing itself as an ethical retailer with principles after 2005’s “low point”.
He told delegates: “During 2010 we will continue to improve customer proposition and communicate that The Co-op is different to the rest; it is member-owned and is synonymous with certain values and principles.
“We are looking at how we enter the market and focusing on sustainable sourcing with our own farms. We have seen a great deal of success with our Grown By Us brand and in the next five years we are going to grow that proposition.”
The Co-op brand roll-out in ex-Somerfield stores throughout the UK will be completed by the end of 2010 and Hurrell admitted that the buy-out had been a gamble. “Now, because of the Somerfield acquisition in February last year, we are up,” he added. “Many have asked, why put ourselves through it?
“But this has given us economy of scale and many synergy benefits, such as combining distribution costs.”
No comments yet