Profits, jobs and stores up at OSG

OXFORD, Swindon & Gloucester Society&#039s end of year results announced last week show an increase in profit; an increase in the number of employees and a significant expansion in the number of stores operated by the co-op.
Trading profit is up to &#163 7.9 million – a record for the society and an increase of almost 4.5 per cent on the previous year. This follows a record investment of nearly &#163 30 million in improving the business last year and almost &#163 100 million over the past five years.
OSG&#039s net assets currently stand at &#163 84.4 million.
All the society&#039s various business groups are reported to have performed well this year with an increase in sales of 11.2 per cent across the board, with the food retail group performing particularly well and increasing its sales by a similar amount.
The society&#039s food retailing division achieved Investor in People accreditation and won the prestigious European Retail Solution of the Year award for its highly successful self scanning till system.
Chief Executive Bob Burlton told the News : "We have continued to move forward in terms of both sales and business expansion.
"This year, in addition to acquiring a group of 30 convenience stores, which we are now refurbishing and re-opening as Co-op stores at the rate of one a week, we also opened two new purpose built stores.
"I am particularly proud of our newly refurbished flagship store in Headington, Oxford, which provides practical examples to customers of our co-operative values and principles as they undertake their shopping."
Added Mr Burlton: "The number of colleagues working in the society increased by 20.6 per cent during the last year, which is an additional 782 jobs. And we are retaining more staff and creating a higher level of staff satisfaction as demonstrated by the results in our internal staff survey.
"The society is at the heart of the community and this was evidenced when we were included in the Guardian&#039s listing of the most generous organisations giving for community benefit.
"The 8.07 per cent of society profit that we contribute for community purposes meant that we were included in the Top Ten of all businesses in the country."