East of England Co-op can trace its history back over 155 years to a number of regional co-ops set up in the mid 19th century. Today it has over 120 food stores – alongside funeral and travel businesses, post offices, a security service and property portfolio.
Its chief executive is Andy Rigby, a veteran grocer who joined the society in 2022 to lead its food retail business and was appointed to the top job in December 2024. Since then, he has embarked on a mission to re-embed co-op values in the organisation, nurture a values-driven culture that recognises the immense value of colleagues, and create a financially healthy business that can use its surplus to support its local community.
“We’ve got to make a profit before we can make a difference,” he says.
East of England is the 14th largest employer by headcount in the region, with a reach that stretches from Norfolk, Essex and Suffolk inland to Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Rigby makes it his mission to know each and every community; at least one day a week is reserved for store visits, catching up with staff, listening to concerns, and being a visible, known face to the organisation’s 3,200+ colleagues.
Earlier this year, I joined Rigby on one of his rounds, visiting stores in Kelvedon, Maldon and the new state-of-the-art store at Chelmsford Station, which includes milkshake, ice cream, coffee, fresh orange juice and Tango Ice Blast machines alongside an in-store bakery, hot food counter and extensive canned cocktail range.
Colleagues are greeted by name, ongoing store-specific issues are addressed and updates are given. As he moves through stores Rigby tidies shelves, praises weather-related fixtures (there are a lot of barbecue items at the fore in anticipation of a sunny weekend) and gently queries shelf gaps.
“I love being in store with our colleagues,” he says. “It’s where our members and customers are and you get a feel of what is going on and how we are doing. I love to problem solve at the shelf edge with our colleagues – we look at the opportunities and at what others are doing, and then look to make simple solutions at pace that will improve our performance and results.”
He describes how each of the society’s trading locations “has its own personality and character” – where “colleagues are our heroes”.
“In truth, we are nothing without our colleagues, and I am here to support them and enable them to be best they can be day in, day out,” he says. “I want to know how we are doing and what we can do better – often it’s the teams who have the answers, so I like getting out on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, to our stores and our competitors’ stores, to see the great work they do. You could say I’m a student of retail; 45 years a student and learning every day.”
Rigby’s early ambitions revolved around rugby (he was on track to play at the highest level) or the police force (his father was an officer in Bury), but an injury led to retail instead, and the people-centred grocery sector where he has amassed over four decades of experience in senior executive roles across food retail, consumer goods, wholesale and pharmacy across UK, EU and US markets.
At East of England’s May annual meeting, he announced a return to profit, with a £4.6m turnaround and a £1m trading surplus from continuing operations, crediting its commercial success to a year of considered investment and reshaping of its business portfolio.
This investment includes the implementation of electronic shelf labelling (ESL) systems (to the obvious delight of colleagues in stores we visit), which both improve staff efficiency and morale, and are more environmentally friendly.
The society has also supported more than 700 charities and organisations in the last 12 months, with individual stores choosing who they want to back. And terms of upgrading stores, in the last month alone it has refurbished two and opened a further two, including an on-the-go cashless station store in Ipswich.
“Our three different format types of stores [on-the-go, community and destination] are based on the demographics and customer missions, from community to transit and they each have their own format that suits their community,” adds Rigby. “We have over 150 years of experience in our communities, but we are continually looking how we can make a bigger difference.”
During his time at the society, Rigby has overseen the relaunch of its vision, mission and values.
“We’ve gone back to some of the co-operative values as the foundation of how we seek to lead,” he says.
“Our behaviours that lead to action are the most important part of what we do. In my experience, those business that have clear and simple values that everyone understands and can live are the ones that succeed. These bind the society together and through having a shared mission, vision and values, we can connect everyone and live them though the behaviours and actions that define our customer and member experience.”
Its updated mission is ‘to be the best at what we do in the East of England’. Its vision is ‘to use our resources to make a positive local impact’. Its five values are: ‘do the right thing; a place for people to grow; stronger together; unstoppable; and respect for the individual’.
What does that mean? “We have to be best at what we do but its our behaviours that will define our success,” says Rigby. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is incredibly important to us, but like everything we do, it’s not just about words. You have to watch the feet, not the mouth.”
East of England has appointed a dedicated DEI lead who works with Colin Dixon-Blair, its chief people officer. It organises ‘lunch and learns’ and diversity training, and works with LGBTQ+ charities and businesses that reflect the region’s diversity and contribute to building stronger, more inclusive communities.
During Pride month (June) the organisation incorporated the pride flag in its logo. It sponsors the Colchester Kings rugby team (East Anglia’s first gay and inclusive rugby team, which welcomes players of all sexualities and gender identities) and uses one of its properties to support Colchester LGBTQ+ venue, The Dragonfly Lounge.
“To have the best teams, we need diversity in those teams in every way,” says Rigby. “We are not just a shop. We are far more: we are hubs in the communities we serve.
“We re-opened our Woolpit store recently after a five-week refit, I was there when we re-opened – our customers were hugging some of our colleagues. That is more than a shop. It was a proud moment that cemented why we do what we do.”
