Competition, Communities & LGBT Month

In my blog this week I want to highlight an issue which presents a major challenge to our business, increasing competition.

At the end of January, a new Marks and Spencer food store opened in Chipping Norton in direct competition with our own premium food store. In response, we put in place an ambitious plan to offer an even better service, a greater range of products and increase our Member and community engagement, all of which were designed to emphasise our Co-operative Difference.  Ahead of the launch colleagues in-store received additional training and a new incentive scheme was introduced, designed to drive trade with an emphasis on ‘artisan’ or high quality, local products.

Phase one of the plan included the launch of our new ‘Owned by You’ campaign featuring in-store pictures of customers, some fantastic offers, free coffee for Members and some great new ranges; such as a new Patisserie range and extended Hobbs bakery. 

We also reduced our use of plastic with an enhanced loose produce range and introduced a new reverse vending machine allowing Members to recycle their plastic bottles. 

Although it‘s early days I’m very pleased to say that as a result of the plan our sales are better than expected following the opening of Marks and Spencer, a significant achievement. In addition, over 700 plastic bottles have been crushed and recycled using the machine instore and we have signed up over 300 new Members. I want to thank all those who worked so hard to make the campaign a success and I look forward to the next phase being rolled out.

I also wanted to highlight two important announcements this week on Colleagues Connect which you may have missed. The first is that today is the last day to apply to our Community Fund. For the first time, we have set up an online application process that can be completed entirely through our website so it’s still not too late to apply if you get your application in by midnight. If you are aware of any community groups that could benefit from a grant please send them this link as soon as possible, so they can make their application.

The second announcement was our celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) history month. As an inclusive employer, we are proud to support this month which comes under our Diversity and Inclusivity Programme. In the Society it is championed by Rebekah Brain, our Society Engagement Manager, so please look at this link to see how we are taking forward this programme.

That's all for this week and I look forward to sharing more with you next Friday. If you have enjoyed reading my blog, let me know your comments by signing in and commenting below.