Coop: serving the future with secure business development

– What was 2023 like for Coop?

László Pekó: – Just like previous years, 2023 was characterised by an ever-changing, difficult to predict economic environment, which continued to challenge every actor in retail trade, including Coop. Despite this we have maintained our stability and closed the year with a good result. Coop Group’s sales revenue was HUF 830bn in 2023, more than 10% higher than in 2022. From this the Coop retail chain’s sales revenue was HUF 521bn, increasing by around 11%. Coop operates 2,150 stores in 1,450 municipalities.

– What did you invest in?

Tóth Géza
vezérigazgató
CO-OP Hungary

Géza Tóth: – Our business development programme is ongoing. Coop completed a large-scale small village development programme last year, which was co-financed by the government’s Hungarian Village Programme. As a result 461 shops were renovated at a total cost of around HUF 12bn, improving the living conditions of 450,000 small village residents. We have also expanded our Szuper Plusz network, which won last year’s Franchise Store Chain of the Year award of Star Store. Our loyalty scheme brings together more than 1 million returning customers. The number of people using the Coop Klub app is growing dynamically.

-What is Coop’s position on the introduction of the government’s RePont programme?

G.T.: – Environmental awareness, which gave birth to the RePont programme, is an important strategic objective for Coop as well. However, adapting to so many legal and regulatory requirements for a chain with over 2,000 stores involves a lot of work and challenges. Coop has registered a total of 1,042 return vending machine (RVM) requests at MOHU, and more than 440 RVMs are already up and running.

– Has the proportion of Hungarian products in Coop’s assortment changed?

L.P.: – This has always been a preference at Coop. The proportion of Hungarian products is consistently above 80%. For fresh products such as meat, poultry or fruit and vegetables grown in our country this ratio is even higher. As for bakery and confectionery products and local artisanal products, we also work with many smaller regional suppliers.

Coop Szuper Plusz in Gönyű

– What kind of social responsibility programmes did you implement last year?

L.P.: – In 2023 we continued supporting the Hungarian food industry and contributing to the promotion of quality domestic products with the 17th Coop Rally. We have been sponsoring the Hungarian Olympic Committee for 28 years. In its 14 years of history, the Coop Aid Foundation has donated more than HUF 160m to provide assistance and meals for children with special needs in public institutions.

Small town business development in Sajópálfala

– How do you think this year’s plans can be realised?

G.T.: – Coop’s priority is to ensure a reliable and uninterrupted FMCG product supply in our area of operation, relying on Hungarian products. We will also continue our environmentally conscious business development and do our best to keep up with changing customer needs –we know that the future of retail is built on the improvements we make today. (x)