Latest news with #Coop
The Sun
8 minutes ago
- Business
- The Sun
Co-op takes on Greggs and Pret with ‘On The Go' micro stores serving hot pizza, fried chicken and domestic essentials
THE Co-op is opening 15 'On The Go' micro stores to take on takeaway giants Greggs and Pret. The first store launched yesterday, serving hot pizza, fried chicken, ready meals, and essentials such as toothpaste and loo roll. 3 Ranging from 600 to 1,000 square feet, the new stores will be about a quarter the size of a typical Co-op and focus on convenience products. They'll open from 7am to 7pm, with some switching to become home delivery hubs in the evening. Boss Matt Hood said the concept was inspired by a Far East trend. He added: 'We believe there is demand for delicious food, fast service, value and spot-on locations.' The Co-op, which already has a 15 per cent share of the UK's 'food to go' market, is aiming to grab a bigger slice. 3 The first store is in Solihull and more are planned for high streets, train stations and busy urban spots. Some older Co-op stores could be revamped to fit the new style. Mr Hood said that after bouncing back from a major cyber-attack earlier this year, the Co-op is now focused on giving shoppers exactly what they need, when they need it. NEXT'S MATERNITY BUY NEXT has snapped up the maternity firm Seraphine for £600,000 after its collapse into administration. The label, worn by Princess Kate during her pregnancies, joins Next's growing portfolio of brands. Daily Money News It coincides with the retail giant raising its profit forecast again — driven by UK sales growing by 7.8 per cent in the second quarter, and rival firm M&S facing disruption. It now expects full-year sales to be up by 7.5 per cent and profits by 9.3 per cent to £1.11billion. ICE AND SLICED 3 UNILEVER'S ice cream sales have soared ahead of its planned spin-off later this year. The company behind brands such as Magnum and Cornetto saw sales rise 5.9 per cent in the first half of 2025, driven by hotter weather and higher prices. Demerged new business Magnum Ice Cream Company will list in Amsterdam by November. Unilever will keep a minority stake as it focuses on beauty and personal care. PORN PROBES OFCOM is investigating 34 porn websites over fears they are failing to comply with tough new age verification checks. Under the Online Safety Act, platforms that break the rules face huge fines of up to £18million or 10 per cent of global revenues.
BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Ferryhill shoplifter who hide face with underwear jailed
A town's most prolific shoplifter tried to hide his identity by covering his face with underwear, police said. Carl Robinson, of Parker Terrace, Ferryhill, in Durham, was jailed after admitting 10 counts of theft and one attempted theft from a shop in of the 32-year with a pair of boxer shorts covering his face was caught on CCTV, Durham Police said. He received a 40-week prison sentence on Wednesday at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court after being found in breach of a previous conditional discharge for similar offences, police confirmed. Robinson was arrested on Tuesday after he was caught stealing meat and butter from the town's Co-op and B&M to previous dealings, police said they were easily able to identify him via the shop's CCTV, despite the underwear covering his face. 'Never seems to learn' Sgt Craig McGuire, of Ferryhill neighbourhood policing team, said: "The team has worked hard to secure these convictions for this prolific shoplifter who never seems to learn."Shoplifting has no place in our community. "It has a detrimental impact on the hardworking staff at these stores and members of the public who witness these offences being committed and it will not be tolerated."Robinson was also ordered to pay almost £700 in compensation. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Sun
9 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Supermarket chain challenging Greggs, Pret a Manger and Subway with new food takeaway stores
A MAJOR supermarket chain is challenging Greggs, Pret a Manger and Subway with new food takeaway stores. Co-op is to open hundreds of 'on the go' micro stores nationwide, which will sell hot pizza and sandwiches, fried chicken, and a range of ready meals. 3 3 The stores, which will be around a quarter of the size of Co-op's 2,400 existing supermarkets, are launching from today, July 31, with the first opening in Solihull. Another 15 stores will open over the coming months, Co-op said, with several hundred set to open in the next three years. Customers will be able to get breakfast, lunch and dinner on-the-go from the new outlets. They'll include staffed hot food counters and a new deli selection, with menus that change throughout the day. Ready meals, alcoholic and soft drinks, as well as essentials such as toilet roll and toothpaste will also be on shelves. The bite size stores will be open from 7am to 7pm, closing three or four hours earlier than traditional Co-op stores. They'll also operate "dark trading" after closing, meaning customers can order food from the stores for delivery, including its hot pizzas. Co-op said it was responding to demand by consumers for fast, high quality food on the go. Matt Hood, Co-op Food MD, said: 'We are always looking at new ways to deliver convenience to our members and customers and these new stores are a perfect example of us using our expertise to refine our 'on the go' offer so it is focused on giving shoppers exactly what they need, when they need it. "It's a brand-new concept, which we believe there is a big demand for and which we can meet with delicious products, quick service, good value and spot on locations." Lidl Launches £7.99 Extension Lead to Rival Screwfix's £39.99 Gadget Busy urban areas have been targeted for the new locations, while some small existing stores may also be converted into on-the-go stores. The stores will also feature more than 30 brand new Co-op products, many available from the stores' delis and hot food counters. This includes a Three Cheese and Chilli Jam Toastie, a Blueberry Granola Pot, a Teriyaki Chicken Salad Bowl, and an All Day Breakfast Baguette. Other Co-op changes The new stores aren't the only change being brought in by the Co-op this year. In April, it emerged that the supermarket chain is replacing paper product tags with electronic labels throughout its whole estate. It said 1,500 stores will have the labels by the end of the year and will be rolled out across all its nearly 2,400 by the end of 2026. The Co-op was hit by a crippling cyber attack in April, which left shelves empty and forced the supermarket chain to shut down parts of its IT system. The personal data of a "significant number" of its 6.2million customers had been stolen, including names, contact information and dates of birth. However, the Co-op said this did not include passwords, bank or credit card details. The fallout from the cyber attack even led to stores flogging Christmas pastries in May, with chicken and cranberry festive slices being shipped out to some branches to fill shelves. O nline orders resumed on May 14 as it switched back on its systems. .
The Guardian
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Co-op expands its ‘food on the go' offering with 15 new bitesize stores
The Co-op is to challenge takeaway outlets such as Greggs, Pret a Manger and Subway with plans for hundreds of small food shops selling hot pizza, fried chicken and sandwiches. The first Co-op On The Go store opens in Solihull, near Birmingham, on Thursday and 14 more are planned this year, including five in London. They will sell ready meals, such as pizzas and lasagne to heat up at home, alcoholic and soft drinks, and essentials such as toothpaste and loo roll alongside staffed hot food counters and food in heated cabinets. At between 600 sq ft and 1,000 sq ft, the stores will be about a quarter of the size of a typical Co-op but unlike many convenience stores they will not sell cigarettes or vapes. However, the company has developed 35 new products for the new format, such as all day-breakfast meal pots and smoked salmon, egg and spinach pots. 'This isn't a really small version of a [traditional] Co-op, it's very different in layout and what we are servicing the customer with,' said Matt Hood, the boss of the Co-op's grocery chain, which already has more than 2,000 stores. The bitesize outlets will open from 7am to 7pm, closing three or four hours earlier than its traditional outlets. Many will then operate as 'dark stores', sending out home deliveries of food and groceries into the evening. The Co-op already delivers groceries to homes via Deliveroo and Uber Eats as well as its own 'quick commerce' delivery service and it aims to add hot food to that fast-growing business. Hood said the format, inspired by similar setups in Japan and China, would help the Co-op grab a bigger slice of the breakfast and dinner market alongside its existing strength in lunch products such as sandwiches. 'This feels ripe for us to step into,' he said. Hood said the Co-op already had a 15% share of the UK's 'food to go' market and the new format was about taking a bigger share in busy urban locations. The first stores are likely to be on high streets but the group is also looking at transport hubs, such as train stations, and could inject aspects of the new format, such as hot food counters, into some of its existing stores. Some small existing stores in busy locations may also be converted into 'on the go'' stores while others are already operating as 'dark stores'. Fewer than 100 stores will continue to operate with just one worker at certain times of day, despite protests from some workers who say the practice leaves them vulnerable to crime, as Hood said this was part of efforts to 'continue looking at every way I can to keep all shops open and servicing communities'. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The new format is launching amid fears for the strength of the takeaway food market after Greggs, the UK's biggest bakery, reported a fall in profits this week as it said shoppers ate less during the recent heatwaves. Hood said Co-op was still seeing 'huge growth in our food to go business', which was driven by sandwiches and coffee. He said retailers such as Greggs were 'always going to be tight on margins and footfall' as they were focused on hot baked products and the Co-op was offering something different. The Co-op is attempting to bounce back from a serious cyber-attack which affected the availability or products in its stores for several weeks and led to the theft of data, such as names and addresses, for all 6.5 million of the mutual's members. Hood said that the Co-op was now 'fully recovered' in terms of the service available in stores but that 'a lot of stuff is still happening in the background to make sure [the IT] set up is even stronger'. He added: 'It has not been something I would wish on anybody. It's been a massive learning curve and we will come back out stronger and better than before.'
CBC
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Katy Perry superfan from Medicine Hat basks in newfound fame
A Katy Perry superfan is basking in newfound fame after a video of him meeting the pop star garnered three-quarters of a million views online. Perry, who is in Canada performing several shows on her Lifetimes Tour, invited concertgoer Braiden Palumbo on stage during a stop in Vancouver. Palumbo travelled all the way from Redcliff, Alta., to attend the show. Now, his neighbours are recognizing him from the cute interaction, which somewhat schooled Perry on small-town Prairie life. "People come into the gas bar all the time and they don't even buy anything, they just want to take a picture with me," he said on Tuesday. "Growing up in a small town, only the people in the small town know who you are." In the video, Palumbo tells Perry he is from Medicine Hat, which is close to his hometown. The animated pop star looks bewildered and plays to the cheering crowd, saying she needs "to study better geography." "Your hats are filled with medicine? Well you know for us Americans you are our medicine hats, we love it," she says jokingly. From there, Perry was in for another lesson when the 20-year-old reveals he works at a Co-op gas bar. "I'm sorry but you guys are way advanced, what is a Co-op gas bar?" she asks. When the fan explains it is just a gas station, Perry goes on to say "it sounds really fancy." Perry, who also made news this week after dining out with former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparking romance rumours, is known for interacting with fans during her extravagant performances. Palumbo said he is grateful to have had that shared moment with Perry, and to put a small town on the map. "I am a huge Katy Perry fan for as long as I can remember," Palumbo said. When Perry began calling people on stage, Palumbo didn't think he would be one of them. That was, until she started walking toward audience members who were further back in the section he was in. "I knew that that was my moment to shine," he recalls. He said all he could think of doing to get her attention was raise his arms and scream will full force. "I was just screaming, 'Pick me, Pick me!' You need to notice me," he recalls. The video was originally shared by on TikTok and has garnered over 750,000 views since being posted four days ago, leaving fans desperately questioning if Perry will visit Medicine Hat in future tours.
