i think the alldays take-over went some way to making the co-operatives have a convenience store presence. the co-operatives collectively will never rival the big three in terms of estate, but size isn't the be all and end all of community retailing, and neither is bland carbon copy shops the length and breadth of the country.WillPS wrote:Re: The co-operative
The internal politics of the Coop and the various societies has lead to them pretty much missing the 'convenience' boat, whilst Tesco and Sainsbury's have sailed ahead with their Express and Local formats. Customers have had to endure a seemingly never ending cycle of brand names. The main group has now taken over many of the previous societies, and hopefully the brand will be able to properly reestablish itself. I should love the Coop, but the vast inconsistencies between shops and stock issues mean that more often than not I'll end up elsewhere.
ok most societies are adopting the new branding, understandable, else its hard to effectively advertise on anything other than itv or channel 4.
the underlying principles of co-operatives being movements (far more than just food retailing) rooted within their communities is of greater value [to me] than being able to get all twenty varieties of pedigree chum. but to be honest i don't think i've noticed particular stock problems with midlands co-operative, although it may differ else where.
