Italian co-operative group Coop Alleanza 3.0 ended 2022 with a loss of €132m (£115m), its annual report reveals.
The retailer attributed the loss to investments in expanding its reach and supporting the purchasing power of members and customers.
During a press conference Mario Cifiello, president of Coop Alleanza 3.0, revealed the group is looking to invest €760m over the next four years to enhance its commercial offer. He said the plan was “ambitious and challenging but at the same time pragmatic and concrete”.
Some of the measures planned for the next four years include investments of €130m over five years to support the purchasing power of shareholders and customers; investments of over €420m for the store network restructuring plan and technological and digital innovation; and growing the Coop branded product.
Other measures include implementing a new automation system at the Anzola dell’Emilia hub (Bologna); continuing the modernisation of the digital ecosystem towards a new multi-device APP and digitisation of the point of sale and expanding training to support staff members.
The group has 2.3 million members and plans to increase sales to members from an increase in the percentage of sales to members from 78% presently to 82% in 2027. It also projects sales under the Coop brand at €6.3bn in 2027 (compared to €5.6bn in 2022) and an operating income of of €230m in 2027 compared to €90m in 2022.
Cifiello added that the group was on a “virtuous recovery path” and its recovery would enter a new development phase. He added that the group had chosen to support the purchasing power of its members and customers through price control interventions, absorbing a significant part of the cost increases causes by inflation.
