The price of growth – the well-working Coop approach: An interview with Dr István Rédei, president-CEO of COOP Star Zrt.

For 30 years Coop has been present everywhere, while remaining local. Today Coop has more than 2,000 stores nationwide and offers services to thousands of communities on a daily basis, while CO-OP Star Zrt. has been operating as a stable backdrop in this system for 27 years. One of the biggest challenges in Coop’s 30-year history was to maintain continuous development, local presence and economic viability at the same time.

Dr. Rédei István
elnök-vezérigazgató
Co-op Star

“Competitiveness and efficiency became conscious goals. Foreign experiences also confirmed that concentration must be carried out as a conscious decision”,

explains the CEO.

The Pro-Coop system was launched based on Scandinavian models, as a joint purchasing and integration initiative. The goal was to be competitive in terms of size and negotiating position, and the result was slow and steady progress. Today Coop provides livelihoods for tens of thousands of people – both directly and indirectly. More than 1,000 people work at CO-OP Star Zrt. and the number of employees has been stable for years, which in itself means improved efficiency. However, the numbers alone were never enough.

According to Dr István Rédei, online commerce can’t replace grocery stores, so online sales are playing a complementary role. Still, Coop Online – operated by CO-OP Star Zrt. – offers nationwide delivery without territorial restrictions. His management approach is based on community. For him leadership is not a technique but a responsibility. Coop’s 30th anniversary is a milestone, but Dr István Rédei doesn’t like to talk about the future in terms of distant dates. He believes in shorter cycles and projects.

However, one statement remains constant:

“Despite the pressure for economic growth, we must remain human”.

This is the price of growth and this is the work that is mostly invisible – as long as it works. (x)