Co-op chief: Supermarkets should follow our pioneers
THE chief executive of the Co-operative Group celebrated the company’s 175th anniversary by calling on rival supermarkets to do more to follow the example set by the 28 Rochdale weavers who founded his business.
Steve Murrells said connecting with local communities is more important than ever and urged other companies to transform their boardrooms to truly represent the customers they serve.
He told the PA news agency: “The parallels with 175 years ago are very stark. They’re still there, it’s just in a contemporary setting. So, we’re actually just delivering what the pioneers were doing all those years ago.”
Co-op grew out of a community shop opened in Rochdale on December 21 1844 to help families in the run-up to Christmas during mass unemployment.
He added: “If the Co-op is to be a success, it has to be a reflection of the society it serves. I see the opportunity I have running the Co-op to orientate the movement towards these issues of the day - face into youth inequality, as well as inequality in the round.”
The Co-op has managed to turn itself around following one of the darkest periods in its history. It culminated in 2014 with its former bank chairman, Methodist minister Paul Flowers, being convicted of possessing cocaine, methamphetamine and ketamine.
Since then, Mr Murrells, who joined as Co-op food boss in 2012 and has previously worked for Tesco, said only moving back to a more cooperative model has led to changing its ways.
He said: “We’re not a PLC and that was one of the reasons why we ended up where we were in the last 25 years. We thought we were a PLC but we weren’t and we lost our direction.”
To highlight the difference, he claimed a far higher portion of the Co-op’s profit is reinvested in the community compared with its competitors.
He explained: “I think our model of working is something that’s really resonating.”
In September, the Co-op revealed a 3pc increase in sales during the first half of the financial year - its 22nd consecutive quarter of growth.