Heart of England Co-op focuses on food-to-go with new concept store
Heart of England Co-op’s latest store, in Warwick, has been designed around shopper demand and the wider consumer missions that a modern convenience store needs to cater for.
With high demand for food-to-go, the 2,200 sq ft store features a hot counter and made-to-order products from its own-label DeliCo brand. There is also a 1,200 sq ft Bewiched Coffee Shop, operated under a franchise deal.
Paul Strong, chief operating officer Heart of England Co-op, explained: “People are looking for alternative food-to-go solutions giving them both convenience and great flavour, as well as healthier options, more variety and substance. It’s no longer about just grabbing a sandwich at lunchtime.
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He added: “People may be coming in at different times of the day for breakfast, a quick lunch, a coffee and snack, or something more indulgent in the afternoon. This is a high-footfall town-centre store, serving local shoppers, workers, visitors and tourists, so the customer missions are wider than in a traditional convenience store.”
It becomes Heart of England Co-op’s 40th site, with the new store creating 45 jobs.
Heart of England Co-op’s annual results for the year to 24 January showed a growth in sales, and a pre-tax loss of £59,000 – a sharp improvement on the previous year’s loss of £3.2m.
Turnover rose to £97m from £95m, and the operating loss fell to a near break-even £7,000, down from £3.2m.
