Central England Co-op plans new stores and jobs
Central England Co-op has outlined an ambitious investment plan to open more than 10 new food stores and funeral homes and revamp dozens more throughout 2019.
New sites will be launched across the country in a move by the Lichfield-based business that will create and secure hundreds of jobs as part of a multi-million pound project.
A food store is currently planned for Stafford and Lichfield's Boley Park food store will be improved, and there will also be investment in Nottingham, Norfolk, Suffolk, Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire and Derbyshire.
The new Stafford store will be launched in Brereton Way.
Several stores and homes across a wide range of towns and cities will be given a major makeover as part of the plans including across the and the West Midlands.
Martyn Cheatle, chief executive of Central England Co-op, said: “We are really proud of the success of our business, especially with our continued good performance in what is a highly competitive and increasingly uncertain trading environment.
“We want to continue with that success and this is why we are committed to an ambitious growth and investment strategy during the next 12 months.
“We are now in the process of getting ready to open and revamp dozens of Food Stores and Funeral Homes and we cannot wait to welcome colleagues, members and shoppers, both old and new, into them for the first time during 2019.”
The new and revamped food sites will feature upgraded fixtures and fittings including the latest in pioneering new energy-efficient refrigeration technologies to minimise environmental impact and LED lighting.
News of this investment comes after the society opened 10 new food stores and six new funeral homes last year as well as relaunching 22 funeral sites and 30 convenience stores.
The major development programme has seen individual areas such as Derbyshire receive more than £4 million, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottingham and the West Midlands receive more than £1 million each and Yorkshire benefit from an investment of £700,000.
This major development programme resulted in an investment of more than £13.4 million, creating dozens of new jobs.
Central England Co-op customers can keep up to date with details of new and revamped stores and homes opening by visiting https://www.centralengland.coop/
