British consumer co-operative Co-op has reported total group revenues of £11.2bn ($14.59bn) for 2021, representing a slight decline from £11.5bn ($14.9bn) in 2020.
The figure was impacted by disruptions to the group’s supply chain and Food system transformation in the second half (H2) of the year.
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Sales in Co-op’s e-commerce business grew significantly to £200m from £70m in 2020, driven by its website and partnerships with Amazon, Starship and Deliveroo.
During the year, the business delivered £9.1bn in total sales across food and wholesale, down from £9.3bn in 2020.
Co-op’s pre-tax profit before tax also dropped from £70m to £57m year-on-year, while its underlying operating profit was £100m against £235m in 2020.
In addition, the group invested £140m in its Food store operations. This was used to open 50 stores and refit 87 outlets.
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By GlobalDataCo-op also expanded its e-commerce presence to 1,600 stores in more than 450 locations.
Co-op interim chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq said: “The last year has seen us facing some significant challenges, including significant supply chain issues in the second half coming at the same time as our Food business transformation and increasing inflationary pressures.
“The difficult operating environment disproportionately impacted our Food business, given its focus on the community convenience market, with an operating model that is more reliant on flexibility in the supply chain.
“The Co-op remains uniquely positioned. We continue to be driven by our vision of co-operating for a fairer world and have a platform of businesses in the right markets to drive change and get closer to our members, customers and communities.
“The significant investment we have made across our business in recent years now provides the basis for us to move forwards in a more efficient manner.”
In September last year, Co-op partnered with Starship Technologies and other companies to offer more robot deliveries and reduce its last-mile carbon emissions.
