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The Co-op Thread

Posted: Mon 01 Aug, 2016 21.30
by Critique
Seeing as the Co-op has became Metropol's new supermarket of discussion, thought it might be nice to bring things into a new thread (if I am wrong and this is not a good idea, feel free to banish it to the depths of history)!

So, a busy few months/years in the land of Co-op - the bank scandal, a rebrand back to the old cloverleaf design, and more recently the announcement that the national chain would be selling a bunch of smaller stores.

In local co-op land (something I always hark back to because I find the difference between the main chain and the East of England Co-op interesting [although I will try not to bang on about it too much as for others it will be tediously dull]), things are similar in some areas but different in others. In the past few years a number of smaller stores have been closed, but they've also opened new ones (in some cases to replace the closed stores), and after many years they seem to be finally refurbishing some of their stores (although a couple of stores I visit fairly often still have 'local and convenient' written in green and gold in a faux-handwriting font above the shelves many years on from the EoE Co-op dropping the cloverleaf the first time around! In addition to this, they've started fitting a fair few stores out with Subway outlets, something I presume in some places will replace the in-store bakeries they've been axing to make way for stuff from local bakeries instead (although I did see recently that they were boasting an in-store bakery on an article about an ex-Budgens they were buying, so maybe they've gone full circle). In Ipswich, in at least two normal Co-ops they've closed a small Co-op funeralcare has opened in its place, which seems slightly odd - is there demand for a funeralcare service around the corner? As a result of these new locations being ex-food stores, they also have odd little quirks like cash machines built into the wall, and stickers on the doors mentioning deliveries and the like.

Anyway, here we are.

Re: The Co-op Thread

Posted: Mon 01 Aug, 2016 22.15
by Pear
Interestingly it seems that regional societies who use the generic Co-operative branding, such as The Southern Co-operative, haven't updated to the new look, and they are still opening new stores with the old logo as this tweet shows.
https://twitter.com/eastacton/status/758374603693654016

Re: The Co-op Thread

Posted: Mon 01 Aug, 2016 22.23
by Martin Phillp
My local Co-op is large enough to have it's own Amazon Locker. There's also the Funeral Service up the road, there also used to be a Co-op chemist next to the funeral place which was sold a couple of years ago and is now an independent.

Re: The Co-op Thread

Posted: Tue 02 Aug, 2016 13.47
by lukey
This raid on a Co-op in Bucks has probably helped sort out some of the clashed branding.
Image

Re: The Co-op Thread

Posted: Tue 02 Aug, 2016 17.18
by JAS84
Their sign has been destroyed, I see. Yeah, new one to go up when they do the repairs I suppose.

But why did they put the white coop logo there instead of replacing the existing The Co-operative food hanging sign?

Re: The Co-op Thread

Posted: Tue 02 Aug, 2016 21.07
by WillPS
Pear wrote:Interestingly it seems that regional societies who use the generic Co-operative branding, such as The Southern Co-operative, haven't updated to the new look, and they are still opening new stores with the old logo as this tweet shows.
https://twitter.com/eastacton/status/758374603693654016
I doubt the societies themselves had much notice. Most will have to put a rebrand out to committee.

That signage screams as temporary to me.
JAS84 wrote:Their sign has been destroyed, I see. Yeah, new one to go up when they do the repairs I suppose.

But why did they put the white coop logo there instead of replacing the existing The Co-operative food hanging sign?
Because that signage is being put up on the fly, with the instruction 'add it on where you can'. If they were to start considering what should stay and what should go it wouldn't make sense (accepting that it does anyway, that is).

Re: The Co-op Thread

Posted: Tue 02 Aug, 2016 21.38
by scottishtv
Is this thread Official or Unofficial?

Re: The Co-op Thread

Posted: Tue 02 Aug, 2016 23.01
by Alexia
scottishtv wrote:Is this thread Official or Unofficial?
It's co-operative.

Re: The Co-op Thread

Posted: Fri 19 Aug, 2016 16.57
by madmusician
Critique wrote:In Ipswich, in at least two normal Co-ops they've closed a small Co-op funeralcare has opened in its place, which seems slightly odd - is there demand for a funeralcare service around the corner?
Worth pointing out that the dedicated Funeral Planning and Chapel of Rest buildings that were on Caldwell Hall Road (next to St John's Church) have been closed, hence the Funeralcare shops opening in other locations - presumably a reallocation of sites? Personally, I'm very disappointed to see the Caldwell Hall Road site close - it's been there as long as I can remember, and it always seemed a very classy thing to have next to the church. I guess it will become yet more flats.

Re: The Co-op Thread

Posted: Fri 19 Aug, 2016 18.42
by Critique
madmusician wrote:
Critique wrote:In Ipswich, in at least two normal Co-ops they've closed a small Co-op funeralcare has opened in its place, which seems slightly odd - is there demand for a funeralcare service around the corner?
Worth pointing out that the dedicated Funeral Planning and Chapel of Rest buildings that were on Caldwell Hall Road (next to St John's Church) have been closed, hence the Funeralcare shops opening in other locations - presumably a reallocation of sites? Personally, I'm very disappointed to see the Caldwell Hall Road site close - it's been there as long as I can remember, and it always seemed a very classy thing to have next to the church. I guess it will become yet more flats.
Hmm, I had noticed that but I don't think the stores popping up can be seen as replacements for the Chapel of Rest and funeral planning centres - in terms of timescale there was probably six months or so between the most recent Funeralcare stop popping up in a closed Co-op and those two sites mentioned above closing down, but probably about two years from the opening of a funeralcare on Norwich Road (in a closed Co-op again), and the closing of those Caudwell Hall road sites. On those closed sites, they've also put photos up of some other Co-op funeralcare site, but I can't place where the photos have been taken at all - doesn't look like the main building on St Helens street or the two ex-Co-op sites.

As for what they do with the closed site, I was wondering what use someone else would have for it in the future, presuming they sell it - I imagine there isn't a great demand for a Chapel of Rest!

Re: The Co-op Thread

Posted: Fri 03 Feb, 2017 20.24
by WillPS
It seems Midcounties Co-operative might be going down the route of using the international logo:
Image