Ali Kurji (centre) with members of staff outside the new Heart of England Co-operative Society Head Office.
The Society’s Head Office, which houses its management, admin, pensions, IT and personnel offices, relocated from its former home in Abbey Street, Nuneaton, where it had been based since 1929, to Whittle House, in Courtaulds Way, Foleshill – a stone’s throw from Lockhurst Lane where the Society was first established by nine ribbon weavers more than 185 years ago.
The move marks the dawn of a new chapter for the Society which reported sales increases of 7.32 per cent in the first half of last year.
Ali Kurji, Chief Executive, said: “We as a Society were sad to leave a site that was our home for almost a century but after an extensive search over many months we found Whittle House met our administrative and operational needs.”
As part of the move the Society recruited 24 new members of staff. Each new recruit received extensive training before starting their employment.
Among them are Steve Browne, the new General Manager of the Food Division, and Amanda Gibbons, the Society’s new Personnel Manager.
With 18 years of experience in food retail Steve completed his training with the Co-operative Group in Northumberland between 2000 and 2003. In that time he worked his way from Trainee Manager to Store Manager.
Over the years Steve went on to work with a number of convenience chains including Nisa, where his roles included National Account Manager, Retail Sales Controller, Head of Symbol Retail and Retail Operations Director.
Steve joins the Society from McColl’s, where he was Head of Convenience Store Format, overseeing 1,670 stores and in just the past 12 months has overseen 85 refits.
Coventry-born Amanda is also returning to her roots, after spending most of her life in the West of Ireland.
With more than 18 years of experience in human resources Amanda was HR Manager within leading Irish retailer Dunnes Store in various stores across the West of Ireland and the Midlands.
She later joined SuperValu in the West of Ireland as Group HR Manager. Between them, Dunnes Stores and SuperValu hold the largest grocery market share in Ireland.
Speaking of the future Mr Kurji said: “Not only is this a new location but it marks the dawn of an exciting new chapter for our Society. Despite an increasingly tough market with unprecedented competition, our Food and Funeral businesses are both achieving strong sales and our Society remains in very strong financial health with good future prospects.”
Widely regarded as part of the fabric of Coventry and Warwickshire, the Society was established in 1832 as the very first co-operative society in the UK and is one of the longest-serving independent retailers in the area.
It was set up when nine ribbon weavers joined together in a stand against greedy manufacturers charging shoppers inflated prices for shoddy products, including flour bulked up with chalk, tea bulked up with iron filings and sugar bulked up with sand.
The aim of the ribbon weavers was to provide honest, hard-working Coventry families with decent food, clothes and other goods at affordable prices.
Mr Kurji added: “It is the vision and the ethos of our founders which not only helped lay the foundations of our Society as we know it today, but which have also helped the business to enjoy continued growth ever since – from one shop in Coventry in 1832, to 32 Food stores and 13 Funeral homes across Coventry, Warwickshire, south Leicestershire and Northamptonshire in 2019.”
