The Co-operative Group is accelerating its Somerfield disposal programme as it bids to get all of its stores refurbished under The Co-operative fascia by the end of the year.
In recent weeks the society has announced a spate of closures of stores operating under the Somerfield fascia. Stores in Annan, Lockerbie, Loughborough, Clacton, Willenhall and Croydon will all close within the next two weeks as a result of "poor trading performance" a move which will affect more than 150 jobs.
"What you're seeing is the tail-end of our anticipated Somerfield closures," The Co-op Group CFO Stephen Humes told The Grocer. "We're trying to accelerate to get every single store green badged. So we've put the 'hurry-up' on the disposal programme.
"By the end of the year the vast majority of these stores we will have done deals on, and they'll have gone," he said.
CEO Peter Marks added: "We constantly churn our estate, which is very big. Some stores we'll see a future for and some we won't. We're at the back end of that churn."
The Co-op Group started converting Somerfield stores to The Co-operative fascia in May 2009. It has since converted stores at a rate of 20 a week in what it claims is the largest integration programme in UK food retail history, refitting 244 Somerfield and The Co-op stores in the 26 weeks to 2 July.
In recent weeks the society has announced a spate of closures of stores operating under the Somerfield fascia. Stores in Annan, Lockerbie, Loughborough, Clacton, Willenhall and Croydon will all close within the next two weeks as a result of "poor trading performance" a move which will affect more than 150 jobs.
"What you're seeing is the tail-end of our anticipated Somerfield closures," The Co-op Group CFO Stephen Humes told The Grocer. "We're trying to accelerate to get every single store green badged. So we've put the 'hurry-up' on the disposal programme.
"By the end of the year the vast majority of these stores we will have done deals on, and they'll have gone," he said.
CEO Peter Marks added: "We constantly churn our estate, which is very big. Some stores we'll see a future for and some we won't. We're at the back end of that churn."
The Co-op Group started converting Somerfield stores to The Co-operative fascia in May 2009. It has since converted stores at a rate of 20 a week in what it claims is the largest integration programme in UK food retail history, refitting 244 Somerfield and The Co-op stores in the 26 weeks to 2 July.
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