Central England Co-op says big festive thank you to hard working colleagues by closing food stores on Boxing Day

Posted by james brindle | Published: 26/10/2021

Central England Co-op is saying a ‘big festive thank you’ to its frontline retail colleagues by closing the majority of its food stores on Boxing Day so they can spend more time with their loved ones.

The decision has been made to recognise the extraordinary efforts of hardworking colleagues throughout a challenging 18 months since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The retailer hopes that by keeping stores closed on Boxing Day more colleagues can benefit from having a longer break from work and be able to travel and spend extra time with family and friends at Christmas.

Central England Co-op Chief Executive Debbie Robinson said: “We want to create a sustainable Society for all and that starts with our colleagues, who have worked tirelessly in these extraordinary times to sustain the wellbeing and safety of our members, customers and communities.

“Christmas is a really special time for so many and perhaps even more so this year after we missed out on celebrating the season in the way we wanted last year due to lockdown restrictions.

“In recognition of this and in appreciation of everything our retail colleagues have done during the uncertain times of the last 18 months, we will be closing the vast majority of our food stores on Boxing Day.

“This will allow our colleagues to have a weekend of festive fun with their families and friends and to have a well-deserved break. I want to thank our customers and members in advance for their understanding.”

All Central England Co-op food stores will be closed on Boxing Day, apart from its six 24-hour Petrol Filling Stations which will remain open to serve their communities and to keep customers and members moving across the festive period.

As a further thank you, all Central England Co-op’s over 7,800 colleagues will be able to enjoy double discount in the retailer’s stores from November 1 until January 8, as well as an additional £25 gift added to their membership cards to use in store.

Earlier this year the retailer rewarded all of its colleagues with an extra day off in recognition of their role in Central England Co-op being named Leading Co-op of the Year by Co-operatives UK.

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its over 7,800 colleagues serve customers across 400 plus trading sites in 16 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Its purpose is to inspire communities to create a sustainable Society for all.

It actively campaigns for the Government to increase sentencing for violent attacks on retail workers and works with FareShare Midlands and hundreds of food banks, generating enough food donations to create over 2.1 million meals for people in need.

The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter, while it is also fully committed to addressing the impact of climate change and is on track to be Carbon Neutral by 2030. 

It invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities through its Community Dividend Fund scheme which has seen over £175,000 shared out between 116 good causes over the past 12 months.

Central England Co-op was named Leading Co-op of the Year by Co-operatives UK in 2021.

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop