Despite a tough year, Lincolnshire Co-op’s capital spend has risen by £10m, as strategic projects for long-term sustainability get underway, it reports.
The business opened two new food stores in Scartho (above), near Grimsby, and Coates, in Cambridgeshire, requiring a collective investment of around £4.5m.
Over £4m was invested into renovating 31 outlets across food, funeral, pharmacy and Post Offices and travel, and the co-operative has also improved efficiencies by upgrading its IT systems and implementing new technologies.
This work has been completed while navigating significant challenges, such as increased costs. These include National Living Wage and National Insurance contributions, which added £4.6m to personnel costs, alongside Plastic Packaging Tax and business rates, it said.
As a member of the national Co-op Group buying group, the retailer also experienced supply issues caused by the Co-op Group cyber-attack, impacting food sales.
However, total turnover remains strong, at £372.8m. This was 0.7% lower than last year, however the spanned an extra trading week. On a like-for-like 52-week basis, turnover was up by 1.2%.
Due to rising costs and strategic priorities, the business is not paying a cashback bonus to members this year. Last year, the cashback bonus was an average of an extra £4.71 per member.
Laura Dunne, chief purpose and proposition officer at Lincolnshire Co-op, said: “From member research, we know that our members most value cashback on purchases throughout the year.
“We’ve also been introducing new mechanisms to enable members to boost their cashback, which are proving popular, and we hope this will help to grow our membership too.
“However, we know that as a community retailer, our membership offering extends beyond member benefits - it also includes how we invest into services to meet the needs of our communities.
“In addition to paying cashback to members, we use our profits to invest in new services, to share with the community, and, as a large local employer, to fund a profit share scheme for our colleagues.”
Lincolnshire Co-op’s membership base has grown by 4.9% this year, bringing the total number of members to 303,231, and the retailer reports higher levels of member engagement.
Local good causes have also benefitted from Lincolnshire Co-op’s support, as £453,570 was donated to 263 groups and charities, including Macmillan Cancer Support, which received £242,752.
The co-operative also ran 12 green space projects, delivered 705 free health checks, introduced 10 new Wellbeing Walks and 13 new Community Cuppas, and supported 235 local breakfast clubs.
Alison Hands, CEO, said: “We’re proud of our resilience as a business in overcoming challenges that have come our way, which would not be possible without the support of our colleagues, members and customers.”
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