Local produce gives Midcounties Co-operative a festive sales boost

Midcounties Co-operative, the UK's largest independent co-operative, saw sales grow by 3.6 per cent in the three weeks to December 31.

That was in part thanks to a 42 per cent rise in the company's Best of Our Counties range of products, which includes locally-sourced products such as Shropshire blue cheese from the Shropshire Cheese Company near Oswestry.

Deputy chief executive Phil Ponsonby said: "Our rising sales over Christmas this year reflect the growing popularity of our stores and the quality of the product ranges we now offer.

"We've improved our product range, with our own locally sourced products and the new Co-op branded range getting a good response from customers. We are extremely grateful to our hard working store teams in producing these fantastic results."

The member-owned organisation, which operates 13 stores across Shropshire, also said offers in the run-up to Christmas including day-long discount schemes for members, helped it increase its share of Christmas grocery shopping.

The retailer is also undergoing a £30 million store investment programme, which began last year and which is expected to continue for three years. New-format stores saw sales increases of up to 40 per cent compared to last year.

Retailers are beginning to share their sales figures from over the Christmas period, which have so far shown a mixed pattern for the under-pressure high street.

Next, one of the biggest names in British retail, saw 12 per cent wiped from its share price after reporting under-par sales figures for the period on Wednesday.

But the Midcounties Co-op, which also operates in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, the West Midlands, Avon, Somerset, Dorset, and Worcestershire, increased both sales and the number of shoppers entering its stores in the run-up to Christmas.

Mr Ponsonby added: "The layout of our refurbished stores supports shopper buying patterns, with merchandising that more easily allows people to shop for now, tonight and later. This is particularly important in our convenience stores, where we've reformatted our layouts to tailor the space to shopper buying habits."

"We have been particularly pleased with the results of our new format stores which are attracting new customers and increasing the share of spend from existing shoppers."