2016 Co-operative Retail Conference

Co-operatives UK's Co-operative Retail Conference is an annual event designed specifically for co-operative retailers. On the weekend of 4-6 March 2016, leaders, managers and directors of consumer owned...

Co-operatives UK’s Co-operative Retail Conference is an annual event designed specifically for co-operative retailers. On the weekend of 4-6 March 2016, leaders, managers and directors of consumer owned retail co-ops from across the UK gathered in Stratford-upon-Avon to learn from experts, meet with peers and discuss how their businesses are responding in a challenging retail climate.

Delegates heard keynote presentations from industry specialists and discussed the co-operative retail environment, looking at values, change, and learning lessons.

Delegates at the 2016 Co-operative Retail Conference (Photograph: Co-operatives UK)
Delegates at the 2016 Co-operative Retail Conference (Photograph: Co-operatives UK)

  • '£100 million challenge’ for UK retail co-operatives

    At the 2016 Co-operative Retail Conference in Stratford-upon-Avon, Co-operatives UK announced a ‘£100 million challenge’ for the co-operative retail sector. According to research by Oxford Economics, the total cost of replacing a member of staff – taking into account advertising, interviewing and administration – is over £30,000. In the retail sector this is slightly lower, at an ...

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  • Co-op retailers warned 'there is change on the way'

    Where will the grocery market be in five years time – and how can co-operatives adapt? These were the questions addressed by IGD Retail Analysis' chief economist, James Walton, in the first session of Co-operatives UK’s 2016 Co-operative Retail Conference. Mr Walton has worked across the entire grocery industry as well as with non-industry groups such as government departments and NGOs. He ...

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  • Challenge set to co-op retailers: innovate and reinvent your towns

    The final morning of Co-operatives UK’s Co-operative Retail Conference saw a challenge laid out for co-operators: how to take the lead in reinventing towns and communities, and transform the retail space. Professor Leigh Sparks, from the Institute of Retail Studies at Stirling University, raised the issue of how co-ops and places share the same two characteristics – both are about identity ...

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  • How can co-op retailers improve their values and ethics?

    Two sessions at Co-operatives UK's 2016 Co-operative Retail Conference looked at how the ethics and values within co-op retailers should remain a priority, and how it was still an area with room for improvement. The first session explored at co-operatives’ attitudes to providing for older and disabled customers. Mark Beasley from the Mature Marketing Association described how many ...

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  • Collective purchasing: what lessons can co-ops learn?

    One of the most highly anticipated speakers at Co-operatives UK’s Co-operative Retail Conference, held in Stratford in March, was Arttu Laine, executive vice-president of Finnish retail co-op network SOK Corporation. The network of organisations owns 20 independent co-ops in the country, including food stores, hotels and the S Bank. SOK has had enormous success in Finland; in 2015 it ...

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