Latest news with #CentralCo-op
Scottish Sun
01-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Supermarket chain makes major change to loyalty scheme affecting thousands of customers
Scroll to see if you're affected A MAJOR supermarket is making a huge change to its loyalty scheme - affecting thousands of customers. The chain is scrapping the traditional style of membership and rolling out a new benefit system. Advertisement 2 Co-op is rolling out a new type of rewards scheme Credit: Getty 2 The chain is offering cashback rather than lowered prices for members Credit: Getty Central Co-op is axing the member-pricing model and is introducing a cashback rewards scheme. Rather than being able to purchase items at a lower price than non-members, those on the loyalty scheme will be able to collect a benefit on certain items. Customers can save up those benefits or use them on their next shop. Co-op told The Sun: "We're excited to confirm that Central Co-op is launching a brand-new Membership proposition in June 2025, designed to give our Members more flexibility, transparency and real value every time they shop with us. Advertisement "We'll be releasing further details closer to the time but for any further information, please don't hesitate to get in touch." The new approach is designed to replace their current Member pricing and offer Members more flexibility and transparency in how they earn and use their rewards. While the shop is not introducing cashback in the traditional sense, as the rewards won't be paid out as cash, it's offering a cashback-style benefit to loyalty members. Co-op told The Grocer that the rewards will be loaded into a digital wallet with a revamped membership app which will offer "more flexibility and transparency than before. " Advertisement However when you're wandering around the supermarket you won't need to constantly check the app to see how much cashback you get for each item. The electronic shelves will display the item's price as well as how much shoppers would be getting in cash rewards. Seriously Spicy Hot Hot Hot Cross Buns Limited Edition spotted in COOP What's more is that if the customer has any spare time they can win cash through activities and games on the new app in an attempt to make "being a member more rewarding and engaging." Coop came up with the idea after recording data from 20,000 customers that suggested customers would prefer instant rewards over discounts. Advertisement It took on the feedback and trialled the scheme in five stores since February, with the project being expanded to cover all UK stores in June. Co-op has been subject to a flurry of upgrades, with the company investing over £20million into its food and funeral services in the last year alone. There have been five new stores that have opened and a whopping 35 branches regenerated. CEO Debbie Robinson said its Hambleton store in Lancashire is the "most environmentally friendly store yet." Advertisement In the name of sustainability, Co-op has also joined forces with food-sharing app Olio, which redistributes millions of meals. The popular app has fed over 13,000 families and offered defibrillators and bleed kits across its store network. Debbie said: "We're investing in our society, our colleagues, our stores and our communities because that's what co-operatives do - we exist to give back, not to generate excessive profit."
The Sun
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Supermarket chain makes major change to loyalty scheme affecting thousands of customers
A MAJOR supermarket is making a huge change to its loyalty scheme - affecting thousands of customers. The chain is scrapping the traditional style of membership and rolling out a new benefit system. 2 2 Central Co-op is axing the member-pricing model and is introducing a cashback rewards scheme. Rather than being able to purchase items at a lower price than non-members, those on the loyalty scheme will be able to collect a benefit on certain items. Customers can save up those benefits or use them on their next shop. Co-op told The Sun: "We're excited to confirm that Central Co-op is launching a brand-new Membership proposition in June 2025, designed to give our Members more flexibility, transparency and real value every time they shop with us. "We'll be releasing further details closer to the time but for any further information, please don't hesitate to get in touch." The new approach is designed to replace their current Member pricing and offer Members more flexibility and transparency in how they earn and use their rewards. While the shop is not introducing cashback in the traditional sense, as the rewards won't be paid out as cash, it's offering a cashback-style benefit to loyalty members. Co-op told The Grocer that the rewards will be loaded into a digital wallet with a revamped membership app which will offer "more flexibility and transparency than before. " However when you're wandering around the supermarket you won't need to constantly check the app to see how much cashback you get for each item. The electronic shelves will display the item's price as well as how much shoppers would be getting in cash rewards. Seriously Spicy Hot Hot Hot Cross Buns Limited Edition spotted in COOP What's more is that if the customer has any spare time they can win cash through activities and games on the new app in an attempt to make "being a member more rewarding and engaging." Coop came up with the idea after recording data from 20,000 customers that suggested customers would prefer instant rewards over discounts. It took on the feedback and trialled the scheme in five stores since February, with the project being expanded to cover all UK stores in June. Co-op has been subject to a flurry of upgrades, with the company investing over £20million into its food and funeral services in the last year alone. There have been five new stores that have opened and a whopping 35 branches regenerated. CEO Debbie Robinson said its Hambleton store in Lancashire is the "most environmentally friendly store yet." In the name of sustainability, Co-op has also joined forces with food-sharing app Olio, which redistributes millions of meals. The popular app has fed over 13,000 families and offered defibrillators and bleed kits across its store network. Debbie said: "We're investing in our society, our colleagues, our stores and our communities because that's what co-operatives do - we exist to give back, not to generate excessive profit." How to save money on your food shop Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year: Odd boxes - plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price. Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30. Sainsbury's also sells £2 "Taste Me, Don't Waste Me" fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash. Food waste apps - food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public. Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio. Too Good to Go's app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount. Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses. Yellow sticker bargains - yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap. But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here. Super cheap bargains - sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they've found on the cheap, including food finds. "Downshift" - you will almost always save money going for a supermarket's own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands. The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as "downshifting" and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.
BBC News
01-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
'The Derby Co-op cow sign is how we knew we were home'
After it first lit up the skyline in 1955 with its red and green neon lights, the "Co-op cow" sign soon became well-loved, and a signal to the people of Derby that they were home. More than 20 years ago, the landmark on top of Derby's Central Hall was re-positioned on the side of the building, but some time after the lights went off and never came on again, leaving locals udderly Saturday, it will finally moo-ve out of the darkness, with its switch-on due to take place at about 19:00 Co-op cow may be unfamiliar to younger generations, but for many older residents of the city, they say it is part of their childhood. The Central Co-op said the cow was being re-lit as part of the celebration of the United Nations' International Year of Cooperatives Dean, society president of Central Co-op, told the BBC: "After over 20 years of darkness, we will have light and people will see the cow again."She said she remembered it being put up, and going to see it. "It was always there - as everyone says, it is the sign that you are coming home to Derby when you see it in the distance," she said."As a little girl, it was the Co-op cow. We had Co-op milk, and it was just part of Derby." The Co-op cow: A history 1955: The sign was put up on top of Derby's Central Hall building. It displayed the slogan "the gateway to health" lit with green neon lights, above a giant crimson cow figure, lit in red neon, and next to white lettering saying "Co-op milk"2001: During the redevelopment of Central Hall, the Co-op cow was removed for roofing repairs2002: A new version of the cow returned to a more sheltered position on the side of the building - as it had previously been "buffeted by the winds and the weather", said Mrs Dean - and was lit again. Some time after this, it went off, and Mrs Dean said over the years she had tried to get it re-lit, without success, and was told the switch had been lost2010: Derby musician Kevin Moore wrote a song called The Co-op Cow2025: The sign was re-wired and fitted with white LED lighting, and on 1 March will be switched on again Mrs Dean said she remembered when the cow was re-lit in its new position, in 2002. She said: "It was lit up by Ted Pickard, the electrician, and I was up there on the roof at the time. We had a crowd of people up there to celebrate. "Then it went off, and it was off for ages, and the Co-op vacated the Central Hall premises as retail departments and nobody bothered about it."I asked several times if it could be lit up again." She said this January, following a chat with Dame Margaret Beckett, the former Labour MP for Derby South, about the landmark, Mrs Dean decided to ask again. She said Central Co-op chief executive Debbie Robinson agreed, saying it would be "marvellous". Mrs Dean added: "It will be just wonderful - so many people have asked to have it re-lit and [BBC Radio Derby breakfast presenter] Andy Twigge has been one of those." Kevin Moore, who wrote a song about the landmark, The Co-op Cow, said he was "pretty ecstatic" about the news. He said: "It is part of my childhood. People outside of Derby probably wonder what we are talking about, but it means a lot to me."I remember as a child coming home from Matlock from my grandmother's house and it would be there floating ethereally in the sky and it was 'we are nearly home'."It is synonymous with a certain generation I think. I love the fact it is coming back to life."Mr Moore said he was planning to remix his song to coincide with the "rebirth" of the Co-op cow. Mr Twigge, who has asked about the cow being re-lit on his show, said growing up, he would go into Derby on the number seven bus from said: "You knew you were in Derby because you could see the Co-op cow, and when you went in at night time, it was all lit up. It's iconic."For people that can remember it originally, it's huge. For me, the Co-op cow is Derby. "Like Rolls-Royce, the railways and the Royal Crown Derby, so is the Co-op cow."
BBC News
26-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Derby's symbolic 'Co-op cow' sign to light up again
Derby's landmark sign of the "Co-op cow" will be relit for the first time in over two erected back in 1955, the mental structure occupied a prominent position on top of Derby's Central Hall building until 2001, when it was repaired and moved to the side of the building, where it can be found consultation with Derby Council, Central Co-op has announced its plans for the "beloved" cow to glow once again, but this time with a white light instead of its orginal red and green "Co-op cow" will be relit from 18:00 GMT on Saturday using sustainable LED lighting for "future generations to enjoy". The original sign was designed and built by the Derby Co-op Society as a "beacon" representing health and wellbeing, whilst advertising the Co-op dairy. It also displayed the slogan "The Gateway to health" above a large crimson-coloured cow sculpture which was then aglow with red and green neon cow soon became a symbol that provided a warm visual welcome home to Derbeians, many of who remembered it as the official end to their adventures away from the city. 'Unique heritage' Elaine Dean, society president of Central Co-op, said she was aware of how fondly Derby remembered the "Co-op cow" and how "it evokes so many happy memories"."For decades there has been a local desire to bring it back to its full glow but needed a clear and sustainable plan to achieve it", said Ms Dean. "What better way to celebrate the UN's International Year of Co-operatives and its theme, 'Co-ops Build a Better World' than to restore a welcoming beacon of such joy and heritage to our Derby community."Baggy Shanker, MP for Derby South, said: "I've lived in Derby my whole life, so I know just how much the 'Co-op Cow' means to local people - with memories spanning generations. "I'm delighted that Central Co-op has brought the light back to this special and unique piece of Derby's heritage for generations to come."
