The Co-operative swung to a £132m loss in its full-year results today, but the group’s grocery arm is growing at pace.
The group attributed the loss to a writedown in the value of its shareholding in the Co-op Bank and its ongoing investment in its rebuild plan.
The Co-operative has ploughed £88m into opening new stores and £85m into refits of existing shops.
It’s an investment drive that has resulted in impressive sales growth in the group’s grocery division, which is it the fastest growing grocer outside of the discounters on a like-for-like basis.
Far from licking his wounds following the group’s full-year loss, new boss Steve Murrells was raring to go.
He heralded the group’s results as “strong” and said that there had “never been a more exciting time” to work at the business.
Murrells was candid about his ambition to expand The Co-op’s remit into new markets and act as a “disruptor” for existing providers.
At a time when convenience rivals such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s are vying for outside partners to bolster their businesses, Murrells is confident the group can be a solo pioneer in its existing sectors and beyond.
Elsewhere, Findel issued a profit warning and appointed Phil Maudsley as its new chief executive, and Mothercare posted a rise in fourth quarter sales.
Quote of the day
“We are exploring how we can enter markets that are not serving people well and challenging existing providers. To do that we are thinking again like the original Rochdale Pioneers. They were true pioneers in every sense of the word – disruptors in markets and agitators for change”
– Co-op chief executive Steve Murrells on his ambitions to expand the group into new markets.
Today in numbers
4.5%
The rise in Mothercare’s fourth quarter sales
10%
Findel’s anticipated full-year like-for-like growth
Friday’s agenda
No formal updates are scheduled for tomorrow so keep an eye out for our take on the biggest stories over the last seven days in the latest instalment of The Retail Week.
Grace Bowden, reporter
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