The Co-op news and analysis – Page 98
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News
Mace empire is carved up
Spar and Palmer & Harvey McLane appear to have ended up splitting what was left of Somerfield’s beleaguered Mace empire pretty much evenly between them.Delivered wholesale operator P&H – which grabbed the rights to the Mace fascia in...
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Not so good, but better
Somerfield has struggled to reverse its fortunes, but is it seen as a prize worth winning, ask Rachel Barnes & Fiona McLellandUnited Co-operatives’ surprise decision to pull out of the race for Somerfield – just seven weeks after...
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Recovery on track
Somerfield is entering the next phase of a redevelopment programme that aims to create one umbrella for the retail group’s IT and supply chains.The process has been a key element of Somerfield’s five-year recovery programme that began in May...
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Croft joins Cadbury
David Croft, former head of Co-op brands and technical at The Co-operative Group, has joined Cadbury Schweppes in the newly created role of ethical sourcing director.Croft joined the society in 1991 to develop food safety, quality and...
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Franchising put on hold
Somerfield has said that plans to grow its franchise operation have been put on hold. There are currently five independent Somerfield Essentials franchise holders and seven TM Retail stores trading under the name. A further 23 c-stores...
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Supplier Spotlight
Agricultural co-op turned limited company Branston traces the start of its growth back to when it began supplying potatoes to Tesco in 1990. It has since steadily acquired most of the other Tesco potato suppliers, and the multiple is its sole...
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Delivery costs slashed
The Co-operative Group hopes the purchase of 40 new trailers as part of an overhaul of its logistics network will result in quicker deliveries to stores and better availability.Its distribution arm, Co-operative Retail Logistics (CRL), has...
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Morrice quits as MD of Aberness Group
Stanley Morrice, managing director of Aberness Group, will be leaving the company at the end of the month.The announcement follows Palmer & Harvey McLane’s acquisition of the Scottish Mace wholesale business from Somerfield last...
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McGettigan takes Irish post as food director
Eoin McGettigan is heading back to Ireland to become Dunnes Stores’ director of food following his surprise departure from The Co-operative Group a fortnight ago.McGettigan had only been chief executive for food retail at the co-operative for...
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Mace under one banner
Mace has come under the ownership of one wholesaler in England, Scotland and Wales for the first time following Palmer & Harvey McLane’s acquisition of the Aberness business from Somerfield. But P&H could have its work cut out holding...
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Arrival of pay by finger
The Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-op has announced the launch of revolutionary biometric payment technology, which will allow customers to pay for goods at the touch of a finger. The innovative technology from Pay By Touch will enable...
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Co-operative Group axes 600 HQ jobs
The Co-operative Group is to slash 600 jobs from its head office in a £50m cost-cutting and efficiency drive to counter falling sales.The move, which was announced on Thursday as The Grocer went to press, will mean just under one-fifth of its...
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Brighter future for Mace?
Mace will now be unified under one owner in England, Wales and Scotland for the first time – following Somerfield's decision on Friday to sell its interest in the c-store brand to Palmer & Harvey McLane. Somerfield bought the rights to the...
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Somerfield keeps up pace with Market Fresh openings
Somerfield has opened a new £1.1m Market Fresh store in Putney, the seventh to be built in London.Another, in Oxford, will join the growing portfolio on Wednesday (May 25), only its second Market Fresh store outside the capital, while another...
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Spar confident of recruits as two more Maces desert Somerfield
Two more Mace retailers have defected from Somerfield to Spar in Scotland, fuelling speculation of a mass exodus.Stores at Glencoe, near Fort William, and at Inverness will join Spar after handing in their notice to Somerfield. And Spar...
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Consolidating the clashing symbols
Some experts say there are too many symbol groups and that this is diluting the competitive power of the independents. Rod Addy reportsAs the major multiples and co-ops have increased their presence in the c-store sector, independent...
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Best buys might have to go
The Competition Commission could force Somerfield to sell the two Safeway stores that best fit its customer base as they give the retailer a dominant market share, according to exclusive research for The Grocer.The watchdog is probing 23 of the...
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Why OFT is eyeing acquisitions
The Office of Fair Trading has questioned 23 of the 114 Safeway compact stores acquired by Somerfield. So why have these particular stores been called in?CACI has built catchments around each of the stores and modelled local grocery...