Rochdale gets first glimpse of new-look Co-Op

Children from Meanwood Primary School, dressed in Victorian costumes from the Rochdale Pioneers Museum, were among the guests of honour as Co-op food and funeral homes in Rochdale launched its new-look: Sophie Greenwood, Emily Gledhill, Jay Jay Rae, Shazil Tabassum, Junayd Hussain, Jessica Hodgkinson

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Members of the Rochdale community were among the first in the UK to see the Co-op’s new logo as food stores and funeral homes in the town went back to the future to unveil its new look today (Monday 23 May) .

The return of the familiar blue design to the High Street – often referred to as the ‘clover leaf’ and first used in the late 1960s – is intended to highlight the Co-op’s heritage, while providing a fresh identity to signal the changes to its membership.

The Co-op has more than one million members across the North West and the new-look follows its AGM in Manchester on Saturday where a radical overhaul of its membership offer was also revealed.

The moves underline the Co-op’s commitment to return to the heart of the communities it serves across the UK with its stores and branches working to establish themselves as community hubs.

The Co-op’s new and refitted food stores all have a Community Pioneer, including Suzanne Rigby and Catherine Crossley – at the newly re-launched Rooley Moor Road food store in Rochdale – who foster partnership and involvement in local initiatives, from local fundraising to working with charities, schools and voluntary organisations to make a difference locally.

Rochdale also has a Co-op Local Forum, led by Member Pioneer, Eileen Earnshaw, and Community Champion, Dawn Nichols – based at The Co-op Funeralcare, who engage with local members and support community activity to benefit the area.

Rod Bulmer, CEO of Consumer Services at The Co-op, said: “Our new Co-op look represents all that we stand for, and with our proud co-operative heritage, it is very appropriate that Rochdale is among the first places in the UK to see it.

"Members, customers, colleagues and communities already call us the ‘Co-op’, and so it makes sense that we do too. Going back to ‘being ‘Co-op’ reflects our decision that membership, the very thing that makes us truly distinctive, must be at the heart of all we say and do.

"We've chosen this look because it links to a time when people really understood how they could be co-owners of their Co-op, and how a strong Co-op could help to create strong communities.”

The revised membership offer will see the Co-op give members an automatic 5% personal reward back on purchases of its own brand products and services, with a further 1% reward going into supporting local community groups and charities.

It will pilot the new membership proposals with colleagues before rolling out across the UK in the Autumn.