Central England Co-op stores to remain shut on Boxing Day

Central England Co-op will close the majority of its 244 food stores on Boxing Day to acknowledge the hard work done by frontline retail staff during the pandemic.

As per the announcement made on Wednesday (27), central England Co-op colleagues can take a longer break from work, which would allow them extra time to spend with family and friends at Christmas.

Six 24-hour petrol stations will remain open to continue serving communities and enable customers and members to move across the festive period.

With the move, Central England Co-op has joined the likes of Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and M&S in shutting stores on December 26.

“Christmas is a really special time for so many and perhaps even more so this year after we missed out on celebrating the season in the way we wanted last year due to lockdown restrictions.

“In recognition of this and in appreciation of everything our retail colleagues have done during the uncertain times of the last 18 months, we will be closing the vast majority of our food stores on Boxing Day,” reports quoted Central England Co-op chief executive Debbie Robinson as saying.

“This will allow our colleagues to have a weekend of festive fun with their families and friends and to have a well-deserved break. I want to thank our customers and members in advance for their understanding.”

Central England Co-op also will be offering its 7,800 staff members a double discount in its stores from Nov 1 until Jan 8. They will also have an extra £25 gift added to their membership cards to use in-store.