Major investment by Central England Co-op brings a brand new look to Leicester food store

Posted by james brindle | Published: 04/07/2022

A Central England Co-op shop in Leicester has been transformed with a significant investment giving a boost to the local community.

The food store in Braunstone has received a makeover to give it a lighter, fresher feel and includes some exciting new features and ranges for locals to enjoy.

The community food store in Hallam Crescent East has been undergoing the makeover in recent weeks with changes including:   

• A fantastic new food to go section with features such as Insomnia Coffee and Tango Ice Blast machines
• New look and feel including refreshed signage outside and new flooring and decoration inside
• All-new energy efficient refrigeration which will significantly reduce CO2 emissions
• New and refurbished kitchen and canteen facilities for colleagues

Store Manager Samantha Clarke said: “It’s fantastic for the team and for our great community in Braunstone that our store has been chosen for this major investment and it’s given us all a real boost.

“We’ve been excited to show off the brand new look and feel to our customers and members as well as the great new features such as the Insomnia Coffee and Tango Ice Blast machines. We’re also looking forward to having self-checkouts installed in the coming weeks.

“The feedback has been really positive so far with people saying it feels more open and it has created a much more pleasant shopping experience which we’re delighted to hear.

“I would like to thank our brilliant customers and members for their continued support and for their patience while we brought our new look store to life – I hope they agree with us that it’s been worth it.”

The Hallam Crescent East Food Store is open Monday to Sunday 7am-10pm. The store has a wide range of products from everyday necessities to something a little more special and also offers a free cash machine, Lottery, Collect Plus/Paypoint, an instore bakery and a lifesaving defibrillator.

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 8,000 colleagues serve customers across 400 plus trading sites in 20 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

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 contact: James Brindle, Public Relations Lead

Contact details: email james.brindle@centralengland.coop and telephone 07392 080028.