From 1 January 2018, Coop Sicilia and Coop Eridana will join Coop Alleanza 3.0, Italy’s largest consumer cooperative, which boasts more than 400 stores in 12 regions.
The two merger operations are completely independent of each other. Coop Eridana is a consumer cooperative active in Parma and Piacenza, with 26,000 members and 20 stores, while Coop Sicilia is a public company entirely controlled by Coop Alleanza 3.0, with 12 stores.
As a result of the latest mergers, Coop Alleanza 3.0 says that it will be able to increase efficiency thanks to synergies and rationalisation, responding to the rapidly changing needs of consumers, while at the same time extending to the new territories.
Network Development
Coop Alleanza 3.0 has also reaffirmed its commitment to develop and strengthen consumer cooperation in Sicily, while other major retailers have chosen to stop investing in South Italy.
A development plan has been launched to enhance the Coop brand in Sicily, involving the adoption of new trade policies and a network reorganisation, with the opening of new stores by 2020 and the modernisation of existing ones.
Created in 2016, Coop Alleanza 3.0 is the largest Italian consumer cooperative, with 2.3 million members, 22,000 workers and over 400 stores in 12 Italian regions. The group reported sales of €4.7 billion in its first financial year.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
