Market Challenges & Upcoming Society events
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Published 2 Sep 2022 in Phil's blog
If you read my blog last week you may have seen a comment posted by Greg Cooke who is a colleague at our new convenience store and petrol station in Lydney, Gloucestershire. Greg’s wife and daughter work at our supermarket in the town centre at Lydney and Greg commented that I hadn’t mentioned the fact that we had announced the closure of this store, so I want to put that right this week.
We have had a presence in the town of Lydney for 150 years in one form or another. At one time our supermarket on the high street was the main shopping destination for the town until a large Tesco store opened in 2005. This was followed by a B&M discount store in 2019 and then this year a new Lidl supermarket opened. The store was heavily affected by the opening of the Tesco and was too big for the level of trade, so the Society introduced some fashion retail concessions into the store with Dorothy Perkins, Burton’s and Bon Marche opening in 2015. As you may be aware, all of these retail brands have subsequently disappeared from the high street and the latest new opening of the Lidl has pushed our supermarket further into loss, it was already expected to lose over £100,000 in contribution this year.
The situation at Lydney is indicative of the competitive challenges for larger store formats. The Society has developed successful trading formats in Convenience stores and Food Markets, this supermarket at Lydney doesn’t fit into either of these formats. This was identified back in 2019 when the Board approved a list of around 25 stores which in their current format were considered ‘non-strategic’ this means they have no long-term prospects as they stand. It was agreed from that point that these stores would, over a 5-year period, be either converted to convenience or Food Market if practicable, the site redeveloped for alternative use, or the site sold either to another retailer or for alternative use. Colleagues at these stores were informed and we have endeavoured to update them as decisions are reached. The site at Lydney is likely to be developed for alternative uses and we will look to accommodate or relocate the Pharmacy, Post Office and Travel branch housed in the supermarket.
It is important for colleagues to understand that we are still committed to many of the towns in which these sites are located and are working hard to secure new locations with the right formats. We opened a brand-new convenience store and petrol station at Lydney in 2021 and this is trading extremely well. The Board has to take difficult decisions if the Society is to remain successful on a sustainable basis; that includes exiting sites which are not contributing and investing in new opportunities which will. I understand however that this is difficult for the colleagues impacted by closures. We have committed to being open and honest about decisions and give colleagues as many options as possible including transferring to nearby stores. Moving forward I will pledge to give regular updates on this blog regarding closures, sales or redevelopments.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to clarify the situation regarding the recent announcement in the press about the sale of Co-op Group’s petrol forecourt business. This relates to those sites operated by Co-op Group only and I want to reassure colleagues that we remain in retention of our 10 Midcounties Co-operative sites and there have been no changes to ownership.
Visiting Carterton Nursery, Childcare Open Day & Warwick Gates opening
This morning I visited our nursery at Carterton with Society President, Helen Wiseman and Sally Bonnar, Childcare Chief Operating Officer to see the great work that Nursery Manager, Nadine Board and her team have been doing to grow the number of children attending. They have been so successful that we are now looking at opening up the upper floors to accommodate more children. It was a pleasure to visit.
Left to right - Society President, Helen Wiseman, Nadine Board, Nursery Manager at Carterton & myself
Staying on the topic of childcare, the entire childcare team will be hosting their latest Open Day across the estate for prospective families on 10 September. With 48 nurseries and pre-schools nationwide to choose from, Childcare colleagues will be on hand to answer any questions on the fantastic services available to our prospective Little Pioneers.So, pop along and don’t forget that colleagues are also entitled to 30% off nursery fees. For more information click here.
Adding to our estate of nurseries, next week sees the team make final preparations for the grand opening of the brand new, purpose-built Little Pioneers Nursery and Pre-school at Warwick Gates. Opening on 5 September, the nursery is part of a £900k Society investment, featuring a spacious garden for outdoor play, on-site parking and a designated parents’ room. I will be part of the ribbon cutting ceremony next week, so will be sharing more then.
Half Year Meetings & Elections – voting opens
For the first time since 2019, our members have the chance to join one of our four in-person Half Year Meetings at various local venues. Similar to last year, there will also be a hybrid meeting in Warwick in-person at Co-op House with the option for members to join in online. It’s your chance to have a say and ask a question before the meetings. Join in by booking your place here.
Finally, our Elections open for voting on Monday. Have a look out for the story for more information on how to vote and make a difference to our Society. Voting closes 3 October at 5.00pm.
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