National Retail Consumer Conference 2015

NRCC 2015, organised by Co-operatives UK, took place in Stratford from Friday 27 February – Sunday 1 March, and saw co-operators gather to discuss changes and challenges affecting...

Ed Mayo, secretary general of Co-operatives UK, who chaired NRCC (Image: Co-operatives UK)
Ed Mayo, secretary general of Co-operatives UK, who chaired NRCC (Image: Co-operatives UK)

NRCC 2015, organised by Co-operatives UK, took place in Stratford from Friday 27 February – Sunday 1 March, and saw co-operators gather to discuss changes and challenges affecting the retail co-operative sector.

  • Multichannel retailing could bring new opportunities for convenience stores

      It has been eight years since the credit crunch and the economy is showing signs of recovery, but consumer growth remains moderate. While 31 million people are now in employment and wage growth has begun to pick up in the last months, the slow progress means that businesses face at least another two years of tough conditions. Vanessa Henry, shopper insight manager at IGD, ...

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  • Group moves from CRTG to Federal Trading Services

    Consumer co-operatives are forming a successor to the Co-operative Retail Trading Group. The new buying group, Federal Trading Services, will be collectively owned by independent retail societies and the Co-operative Group, which are currently part of CRTG. “The idea came to life in November – as a concept it has gone from creation to inauguration in a few months,” said Mark Smith, chief ...

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  • The Co-operative Group defines 15 key programmes to rebuild the business

    The last 18 months have been characterised by one crisis after another at the Co-operative Group. Rod Bulmer, chief executive, Consumer Services says the rescue phase is now over. “We were in the hands of our banks, forcing our hand on how we manage and engage the business. Over the course of 2015 we had to take strategic decisions about which businesses would continue to be part of the ...

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  • Pension challenges for co-op retailers in the UK

    With the government introducing pension automatic enrolment, all employers must offer a workplace pension scheme and automatically enrol eligible workers in it. The 2014 budget has also introduced more choices from April 2015, which means that employers, including co-operatives face the challenge of communication and education colleagues about these changes. The new legislation has also ...

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  • Channel Islands Co-operative offers a dividend with a difference

    At the Channel Islands Co-operative, the dividend proposition is an important part of the tangible benefits the society is offering to members. The dividend is in cash, not points, and is paid annually as 4% on most purchases. Members receive double dividends if they shop on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, a move taken by the society in order to spread trade away from busy weekends. “It’s an ...

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  • USA co-op grocers are sharing data for mutual benefit

    Co-operative grocers in the USA are sharing information to analyse their performance National Co+op Grocers (NCG), a business services co-operative for retail co-ops, helps unify natural food co-ops in order to optimise operational and marketing resources and strengthen purchasing power. The organisation includes 143 food co-ops operating over 190 stores in 38 states, with combined annual ...

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