Co-Op department store in Nuneaton set to close

[dutchman]

Major blow for Nuneaton as department store set to close



NUNEATON town centre has been dealt a massive blow as a major retailer reveals plans to close its department store.

Within a year the Heart of England Co-operative Society will be no more in the town.

The business, which has links to the town dating back 130 years, is to cease trading all of its non-food divisions.

As well as closing the department store in Queens Road, the Co-op will also shut all its non-food stores in Bedworth, Atherstone and Hinckley as well as in Rugby and Leamington Spa.

The closure plans will not affect the firm's funeral division and as it stands, Co-op Travel in Nuneaton will remain open, although branches in Bedworth and Leamington will shut.

[dutchman]

Closure of Co-op stores is a "big blow" to Nuneaton and Bedworth

Thousands of people across Nuneaton and Bedworth have been “totally let down” by the “shocking” decision to close Co-op stores in the towns, a council chief has said.

Coun Dennis Harvey, the leader of the borough council, hit out after the Heart of England Co-op announced it was shutting five of its non-food stores across Warwickshire.

He also said that the council was “kept in the dark” by the Co-op’s plans and there had even been talks of pumping money in to the Nuneaton branch in Abbey Street, rather than closing it.

The decision to shut the shops, which includes those in Bedworth, Rugby, Leamington and Atherstone, as well as Nuneaton, was taken as the stores are no longer viable due to the rise of online shopping and a “challenging retail environment, said Co-op bosses.

Coun Harvey said: “I am as shocked, as most residents will be, about the closure of the non-food Co-op stores across Warwickshire and Leicestershire.

“Like the many thousands of loyal members of the Co-op, who have also been kept in the dark, no contact whatsoever has been made with the council here in Nuneaton and Bedworth.

“Indeed, over a period of 18 months, the Co-op has been in detailed discussions with our developers about redesigning their Nuneaton store and investing a great deal of money in a new building. Was this all hot air?

“The closure of these stores is a big blow. The Co-op is an much-loved institution locally, where people felt they could always expect quality, fairness and good service.

“Thousands, like myself, will have trusted the Co-op throughout their lives.

“This news is not only shocking for our towns, as well as other towns throughout the county and in Hinckley, it is also shocking in the way the board has taken the decision and announced the news.

“Hundreds of loyal Co-op employees will be hit hard by this announcement which threatens the livelihood of themselves and their families.

“It makes a mockery of their slogan ‘There for you for life’.

“Personally, I shall now be reassessing my lifelong commitment to the Co-op, which I use for many services from banking to insurance.

“Like many others, I feel totally let down by an institution which I have supported all my life.

“I contacted council officers immediately upon hearing the news. We are all reeling under the shock, but are seeking urgent talks with Co-op officials to see if any part of this decision can be reversed or modified.”

[rebbonk]

Sad, but it's all down to economics.

Profitable stores are rarely closed down!

If people don't use stores, they close.

So is it really such a surprise Mr Harvey?

[dutchman]

Nuneaton Co-op store bosses accused of avoiding vital meetings

CO-OP bosses have been accused of avoiding meetings until the fate of the doomed major store in Nuneaton is sealed.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council leader, councillor Dennis Harvey, is fuming that repeated attempts to meet with bosses at the Co-op have been ignored.

In fact, he revealed at a full council meeting that, in the last letter to the council at the start of October, the local authority was told that the chief executive had such a busy diary that he was unable to schedule any summit until at least the New Year.

That, according to the Town Hall leader, is way too late as the fate of the store will have already been decided.

As featured in the News, the non-food stores in Atherstone, Hinckley and Bedworth are due to close on January 23, to coincide with the society's year end.

But there has still been no word about when the large department store, which has been in Nuneaton for more a century, is going to close.

Cllr Harvey made the statement at a full council meeting after being asked a question by concerned councillor Sam Margrave, who himself has also been trying in vain to get the Co-op to host a presentation for members to explain what is going on, especially for the sake of staff.

"It does seem that meetings are being avoided until after the fate of many shops have been sealed," Cllr Harvey said.

"For any business to take this cavalier attitude to its staff and customers, not to mention locally elected representatives, is reprehensible but for the Co-op, owned by its several thousand members, many of whom are our residents, such actions are without precedence.

"I can assure Cllr Margrave that we shall, as a council, continue to press the executives of the Co-op to meet with us and we will do all in our power to support local people, staff and members, who are deeply affected by the decisions of the board. I am sure, that many members of the council, as well as residents, must be sickened, everytime they watch the TV advert with the slogan 'The Co-op, there for you, for life' only until the directors decide otherwise it seems."

[rebbonk]

Cllr Harvey seems rather full of his own self importance. The Co-Op owes him nothing.

The Co-Op is a business, and as such it will be run as one. If insufficient people are using the store to cover wages and other outgoings (rent and rates: Mr Harvey!) then it will close down. Businesses are not charities!

[dutchman]

Bittersweet victory for Nuneaton Co-op store campaigners



CO-OP board bosses have finally agreed to meet members over controversial store closures – but it will not be for another six weeks.

While campaigners are delighted that their plea has been listened to, they are angry that it is almost certainly too late to try and save the stores.

Atherstone and Bedworth Co-op stores were closed a week earlier than planned, Hinckley's closed on Saturday and the closing date for the Nuneaton store is expected to be announced 'shortly'.

So it is a bitter-sweet victory for Co-op member and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough councillor Sam Margrave, who has been championing the Nuneaton campaign, and Hinckley and Bosworth borough councillor David Bill, who has been protesting in the town.

"I am pleased that it has been accepted," Cllr Margrave said.

"But I'm outraged that the meeting isn't going to be held at the earliest opportunity.

"I am also concerned that there is no more information about what support is being given to the staff for the future careers. A lot of them have worked there their whole lives - how are we going to help these people who gave their lives to the Co-op?"

He went on to add: "There has been a deliberate attempt not to allow members to have their say.

"I find it incredible that they still haven't announced when the Nuneaton store is to close, staff haven't had chance to look for a new job or plans for the future."

Cllr Margrave said that had the Co-op been willing to meet Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council or the town's MP, Marcus Jones, profitable parts of the Nuneaton department store could have been salvaged.

"I am very concerned that parts of the department store, such as the café and the toy shop, were profitable and had the Co-op got around the table with the borough council or the MP, these could have been saved and moved into a smaller unit," he said.

"They have not been straight about their plans to close Nuneaton. The staff still haven't got any answers and there is a real culture of fear of them even talking about anything."

As well as the members meeting, Cllr Margrave hopes that the Co-op will finally agree to get round the table with the borough council and MP. I would invite them to meet with councillors and the MPs to discuss the future so that a positive legacy can come out of this awful situation."

The special members' meeting will take place on Thursday, March 10 at 6pm at the Heart of England Co-operative Society Ltd in Abbey Street.

A Co-op spokesperson said that admission to the meeting shall only be by production of the Members Share Pass Book or a receipt in lieu thereof.

If a vote is required, each member shall have one vote only and must have been accepted as a member for a period of not less than six months prior to the date of the meeting and must hold at least £1 share (fully paid).

[dutchman]

Nuneaton shop owners 'abandoned' by closure of Co-op



Shop owners say they feel “abandoned” in part of Nuneaton town centre which has become a “no-visit” area for customers.

Retailers at the bottom of Abbey Street say they have been suffering for several years - but the loss of the Co-op has dealt the final blow.

They say they are desperate to turn back the clock four years when the section of town was thriving and boasted market stalls which pulled people into the area.

They are calling on Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council to help raise the profile of the area, which they say people no longer even walk down.

Kevin Radford, owner of Abbeycraft Artworld, said: “Most of the people used to cut through the Co-op and come down here (Abbey Street) but now they can’t, people just turn straight into Stratford Street.

“There is nothing to entice people to come up here, it’s been quiet for 12 months but it has gradually got worse once people knew that the Co-op was closing.

“We can’t blame the Co-op for it, they’ve closed but what we need is some support from the council, we have tried to speak to them but they never came back to us. It is so disheartening.”

Abbeycraft ArtWorld has been in the area for three decades as has John Christopher hairdressers.

Its owner John Coleman said: “We feel like we have been abandoned.

“The car parking is not helping, people won’t just stay for a coffee and then have a haircut, they don’t want to stay in town because it costs too much now to park in the town.

“We used to have market stalls out the front and it used to get people down here but now there is nothing. It is not user friendly down here at all.”

The Co-op is not the only name to disappear from the high street as the Age Concern charity shop has shut, the Headway shop is due to become offices and the Peri Peri takeaway has closed.

Stuart Lloyd of Cartridge World, which has been in the shopping area for a decade, said a long term plan was needed to provide the much-needed boost the area deserves.

Ricky Parekh, owner of the Best One convenience store, said: “I remember the first day we came here, now it is a completely different place.

“If my shop was rented, I would be gone, but I have a mortgage to pay.

“It used to be a nice market town back in the day, the only time we get a bit of passing trade is when something is happening, like Nuneaton Lives. I honestly think that in two years’ time it will all be gone.”

The retailers say they need help now before it’s too late.

Mr Radford said: “I don’t know why the council can’t offer reduced rents for market stalls down here, that would bring people in because at the moment everything is in Queen’s Road.

“You look at Rugby, Hinckley and Tamworth, they are all thriving, but not here.

It is sad, I used to love to go out and have a walk about for an hour, now I don’t even want to go out now.”

The Telegraph has contacted Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council for a comment.