12 months ago this week, Rhuthun/Ruthin Co-op embarked upon its internal refurbishment. There was much shifting and dismantling of stands and disruption within. There were empty shelves and freezers.
The result five weeks later was a significant change. Out went the old pre-2007 blue on white Co-op brand with its blue cloverleaf logo and in came the new The Co-operative style. There was emphasis on the lime green colour installed in Dinbych in 2008. This sounds hideous when you see it mentioned in writing but it's actually modern and fresh in appearance.
Internally came new, modern shelving and a modest reduction in display space, contributing significantly to making the store less cramped, more open and welcoming.And the Co-operative has tried to address what grocers call "insult pricing". This is the uncompetitively high prices paid by Co-operative shoppers for everyday items such as bread and milk.
And the cumulative result? A local Co-operative insider reports that since the refurbishment, takings have increased by over 10 per cent. This is on top of the fillip that followed the closure of adjacent Somerfield. This runs counter to the commenter who on 18 March suggested that "the Co-op in Ruthin is so sad. Hardly anybody there. I don't understand why they keep it open."This specific comment drew a riposte from a Co-operative worker (and I don't know whether this was the same insider mentioned above) who said,
"I work at the Co Op and I have to say I personally disagree with hardly anyone being in the shop. Through good reputation as a friendly and much liked shop with loyal and caring staff, we create our own market of customers who decide to work with us for our commitment to the community and because we are so enthusiastic about our jobs. We have loads of regulars and new faces about, every week. Tesco could never rival the nice atmosphere that our shop has."
Friendly & enthusiastic staff? True enough, though it wasn't always thus. The sea-change occurred at the arrival of Tesco, coinciding with a new manager.Loads of regulars and new faces every week? The aforementioned increase in turnover (with seemingly fewer goods on slightly fewer shelves) would tend to support this view.
Jo commented,
"It is good to have a choice and that is why I support the Co-op as with so many Tesco stores opening in this area, pretty soon we may not have a choice—and that would be bad news for us but wonderful news for Tesco."Like the rest of us, it’s interesting that the Co-operative worker and Jo refer to the shop by the much loved and now old "Co-op" brand name.
The new branding is the store's fourth. It started life upon completion in the early 1990s as Lo-cost, passing to the Co-op as Co-op Pioneer, by 1996. Co-op then dropped the term "pioneer" in favour of Co-op Rhuthun (often minus some fascia letters!), before becoming The Co-operative Bwyd (Food) in 2009. The owners of Lo-cost bought and later integrated its larger Presto foodstores with the Safeway chain, which developed a store in Dinbych in 1998 before becoming rebranded locally as Morrison's in 2005. It, too, will shortly see a Tesco nearby.