The Co-op has announced that almost a third of its planned 100 new store openings this year will be located in London, creating around 600 jobs.
The grocery and convenience store retailer will invest £28 million on 30 food shops across the capital, including Cricklewood, Paddington and Walthamstow, as part of its aggressive expansion plan.
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Last week, the Co-op said it would spend £15 million in Yorkshire to open 10 new food stores while renovating another 11 stores. The localised scheme is set to create 250 jobs.
The expansion is part of the Co-op’s previously-announced £160 million investment to 100 new stores this year, after 100 were opened in 2017.
The nationwide expansion programme will also see the Co-op’s current 150 stores undergo a “major makeover”.
The news comes as the Co-op awaits a decision from the Competition and Markets Authority on its proposed £143 million takeover of convenience store chain Nisa.
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The Co-op may need to think again if they think it is a good idea to open a third of its planned 100 new store openings this year in London, given that they have so far failed to issue a statement about whether or not they support their adverts running in parallel with extreme homophobic articles in the Daily Mail. Most Londoners from all sections of the community are rightly proud of their inclusive, anti-homophobic views, and this seems to sit at odds with the Co-op’s silence on the issue, despite a lot of calls on social media today (16/2/18) for them to make a clear statement about where the company stands. Londoners will use their spending power accordingly.