Co-operative Food posts strong Christmas sales driven by good performance at its convenience stores
The Co-operative Food enjoyed strong sales over the Christmas and New Year period as trade was boosted by the success of its convenience offer.
Like-for-like sales in the three weeks to 4 January 2014 rose by 3.5% compared to growth of 2.2% in the same period a year earlier. The Co-operative’s core convenience stores saw like-for-like growth of 5.4% in the period.
In the 13 weeks to 4 January 2014, like-for-like sales across the entire store estate increased by 1% although total food sales were flat following the disposal of larger non-core stores during the period. Like-for-like sales at the convenience estate grew by 3.2%.
Steve Murrells, chief executive for retail at The Co-operative Group, said: “These results are a reflection of all our efforts to improve the customer offer and show the value of our strategic focus on convenience retailing. We are now delivering better products, at better prices, in better shops. With household budgets under pressure, customers want affordable, quality products delivered locally by colleagues who are really engaged and that is what we are delivering. We still have much to do, but these trading figures give us real encouragement.
Never Miss a Retail Update!“Looking ahead, we believe that our core convenience stores should continue their strong performance. Through the rest of the year we will continue to further develop our food strategy and customer offer around the core convenience estate, where we have a leading market presence and position.”
The Co-operative Group also revealed a strong performance at its online electrical business, with sales up 28.2% in the 13 week period. Pharmacy sales also rose, edging up 1% over the same period.
