Co-op | Retail Bulletin

Co-op NEWS AND COMPANY PROFILE

The Co-operative Group is a very historic British brand that has its origins in Rochdale, Lancashire.

Co-op NEWS

MORE ABOUT Co-op

The Co-operative Group is a very historic British brand that has its origins in Rochdale, Lancashire. Established in 1863, membership lies at the heart of the business. The group is based on the notion of ethical trading and a belief that the profits should be shared amongst members according to their purchases. Members can subscribe for as little as £1 and manage the business for their benefit in accordance with Co-op values and principles. Co-op food is the biggest business within the group with 2,500 stores of different sizes across the UK. There are approximately 1,000 other stores under the control of the wider group. The Co-op is a major player in the UK supermarket sector and accounted for 6.6% of purchased UK groceries in 2016. The Co-op continues to expand and acquire struggling businesses to grow, the most notable of these being Somerfield which it acquired for £1.57bn in 2009. In 2021, Co-op started selling food online working with Amazon using robots to deliver groceries. Nisa Retail Ltd is a large subsidiary of the group. Co-op Products and Services:

Food - different ranges include Co-op (standard own brand range), Irresistible (premium food and drink), Free From (suitable for customers with food allergies), Gro (vegetarian) and Honest Value (low price range).
Funeralcare (the UK’s number one funeral services provider)
Legal services
Insurance
Travel

Stores

Co-op is the UK’s fifth biggest food retailer with more than 2,500 local, convenience and medium-sized stores. In total the group operates nearly 3,500 total outlets, across all service lines.

All Co-op products and services can be viewed and ordered online to be delivered straight to your home.

Employees

Over 70,000 across all stores and services.

Head office

The Co-op head office is located in Manchester.

1 Angel Square, Manchester, M60 0AG

Financials

Year to March 2020
Revenue: £11.472bn
Food Revenue: £7.765bn
Pre-Tax Profit: £100m
Pre-Tax Food Profit: £350m
EBITDA: £615m

Year to March 2019
Revenue: £10.864bn
Food Revenue: £7.505bn
Pre-Tax Profit: £35m
Pre-Tax Food Profit: £283m
EBITDA: £552m

The Co-operative Group is one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives, owned by more than five million members. The owner and controller in principle are the 126 independent society members, however in practice, it’s the large retail co-operatives that buy through the CRTG (Co-operative Retail Trading Group).