Second Northamptonshire Co-op this year receiving major investment to create completely new look
Posted by james brindle | Published: 21/03/2022
- Central England Co-op in Oundle is currently being transformed ahead of being relaunched in April with a brand new look and a host of new features following on from a similar investment to the retailer’s Thrapston store earlier this month.
- Features inside will include new self-checkout tills and a zero-waste refill station
- Improvements are also being made externally including new signage and a free bicycle repair station
A second Central England Co-op in Northamptonshire this year is currently being transformed with a major investment to create a more modern and sustainable food store for the local community.
The food store in St Osyths Lane, Oundle is being completely refreshed with a brand new look and a whole host of new features following on from the relaunch of the retailer’s Thrapston store earlier this month.
Work is progressing on site, and it is planned that the Oundle store will relaunch on Thursday, 14 April with changes set to include:
- A zero-waste refill station offering products such as cereals, coffee, pasta, rice and dried fruit as part of long-term efforts to cut down on plastic packaging and waste
- All new eco-friendly refrigeration and lighting, a recycle station and free water refills
- New features including self-checkout tills, a revamped food to go section and a customer toilet with baby changing facilities
- A free bicycle repair station and new external sign outside
The Oundle store’s transformation will be the fourth of five major regenerations of Central England Co-op’s larger stores in the first half of 2022, following on from Thrapston, as well as stores in Dodworth, South Yorkshire, Kibworth, in Leicestershire and Bakewell in Derbyshire.
The Oundle Store Manager Jonathan Quinn said: “We’re delighted to have seen our store chosen for such a significant transformation which will make a huge difference to the shopping experience for our customers and members and create a store fit for the future we can all be proud of.
“We’re really excited about the new features which are being added to the store, as well as some fantastic new ranges which I’m sure will be really popular with our shoppers.
“Unfortunately, there has had to be some disruption taking place due to the scale of the works including a short closure and I would like to thank our wonderful community in Oundle for their patience. I’m sure once they see the result of the transformation, they will agree with us that it will have all been worth it.”
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 contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle
Contact details: www.centralengland.coop/press-and-media