The Co-op announces £160m investment in new stores

The Co-op, the UK’s sixth largest retailer, has announced plans to invest £160m (€180m) over the coming year to open 100 new food stores across the UK. The member-owned supermarket chain said it will also overhaul 150 of its existing stores with major makeovers as part of this investment.

This latest investment by the Co-op comes as the supermarket is locked in an intense battle for market share with both German discounters, Aldi and Lidl, and the upmarket retailer Waitrose. The Co-op currently has 6% of the UK grocery market, which was valued close to £190bn (€213bn) last year.

Over the last 12 months, the Co-op has lost its position as the fifth largest retailer in the UK behind the traditional ‘‘Big Four’’ to German discounter Aldi, which now has an estimated 6.9% of the UK grocery market.

In a further attempt to shore up its market share, the Co-op announced in November it had agreed a £143m (€160m) deal to acquire Nisa Retail, the UK-based wholesale and convenience chain. The Co-op also announced before Christmas that it is to become the exclusive wholesale supplier to the Costcutter group of convenience stores.

Last year, the Co-op announced it had stopped selling Danish bacon and New Zealand lamb and was instead focusing on providing 100% UK meat to its customers. The move made the Co-op the first UK retailer to require all fresh meat to be British only.