Co-op targets new shops and expanding membership in growth strategy

The Co-op has said it plans to snap up new convenience shops and rapidly grow its membership programme as part of its new growth strategy.

The company, which has operations ranging from grocery stores to funerals, also said it is launching a new round of price cuts for its members on Wednesday as it seeks to accelerate sales growth.

The Co-op has seen its food operation lose market share over the past year, according to analysts at Kantar, as many shoppers have turned to discounter rivals in the face of tighter budgets.

However on Wednesday, the company said it saw improved momentum last year through growth in its membership programme, increasing by almost 15% to around five million members, who also become part-owners in the co-operative.

It said it now plans to grow this to eight million members by 2030 as part of its fresh growth plan.

The plans are intended to help support growth across its core businesses, which cover food, funerals, legal and insurance.

In grocery, the Co-op said it is seeking to grow its share of the UK convenience market, with ambitions to buy new potential Co-op shops.

It also aims to more-than-double its number of new franchise stores and open 400 new shops in its Nisa business as part of the strategy.

The Co-op said it brings the firm’s total investment in member pricing to around £100 million.

Shirine Khoury-Haq, chief executive officer of the Co-op, said: “Over the past year our underlying financial strength has enabled us to support our colleagues and their communities, through the cost-of-living crisis.

“By placing our member-owners firmly at the heart of our Co-op, we’ve seen a marked increase in new members joining us and greater engagement from existing members.

“As owners of our business, our members not only benefit financially from their membership, but also have a say in decisions we take as a business and help support and make a difference to issues that our members care about in communities across the UK.

“We are looking to not only provide greater financial benefits to our members through lower prices and offers across our businesses, but also to deepen our engagement with members on the decisions we take and the issues that matter most to them.”