Midlands Co-op sees Christmas food sales rise 7.9pc

The Staffordshire-based Midlands Co-operative Society has defied the Christmas retail gloom with yet another year of robust seasonal retail trading.

Shoppers snapped up hundreds of thousands of its mince pies. Sweets, beer and Christmas puddings also all sold well in the run-up to Christmas, said the Lichfield-based society today.

The Midlands Co-op, which employs over 7,000 people, said it enjoyed strong trading across its retail stores in the four weeks to the end of December, with like-for-like food sales, excluding fuel at stores open more than a year, up 7.9 per cent on last year.

Sales of confectionery, beer and fresh products were "very strong", with more than 168,000 boxes of mince pies sold, 28,500 Christmas puddings, 145,000 tins of sweets and 700,000 multi-packs of beer purchased by customers.

Chief executive, Martyn Cheatle, said: "I am pleased to announce another successful festive period for the society, thanks to the support of our customers and continued hard work of our colleagues.

"Last year was a challenging one for the retail industry and 2012 will be no exception. I am confident that despite on-going economic challenges we are well placed to meet these head on and make the most of any opportunities which arise."