Co-op on Friday said it will open 18 stores in the first quarter of 2026, including new stores and those reopening following refurbishment.
A day earlier, Aldi has announced plans to invest £370 million in 2026 as it accelerates its UK store expansion, with the discounter targeting the opening of 40 new locations across Britain.
The first new Co-op store of 2026 opened last week in the new community neighbourhood of Willowbrook Park, Didcot.
The first of the stores to reopen following a major makeover include a convenience store in Eastern Green, Coventry and, a franchise operated site in Ealing, London.
Co-op said it is focussed on creating stores which act as a hub locally, offering great quality and value alongside added services. Stores offer coffee, bakery; Fairtrade products; fresh and healthy produce and added services include payment services; parcel collection and returns and, the online home delivery of groceries – with orders picked fresh in the local store for quick and convenient delivery in the community, ensuring the high street store benefits from online orders.
Around 86 per cent of the UK population now has access to Co-op groceries online, through Co-op’s own online shop and strategic partners including Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats.
“I’m delighted to see our first new store of 2026 open in Oxfordshire, as we start 2026 with an active store opening programme to increase and enhance Co-op’s presence in high streets and communities all across the UK,” Kate McCrae, Co-op operations director, said.
January has also seen Co-op unveil its new Served ‘Taste of Asia’ range with a main course and two sides for two and, in a UK convenience retailer first, launch new own-brand GLP1 friendly meals as part of its new “Good Fuel” health range offer.
New or transformed Co-op stores opening in the first quarter, 2026:
- Ealing, London
- Didcot, Kilburn Place, Oxfordshire
- Eastern Green, Coventry, West Midlands
- Cove - Fernhill Road, Hampshire
- Totton, Southampton, Hampshire
- Deal, Kent
- Killearn, Main Street, Stirling
- Farnsfield - Main Street, Newark, Nottinghamshire
- Sidmouth, Devon
- Straits Parade, Fishponds, Bristol
- Saltdean - Lustrells Vale, Brighton, East Sussex
- Westgate, Skelmersdale, Lancashire
- Marske, High Street, North Yorkshire
- Worle, High Street, Somerset
- Tarbert, Argyll
- Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire
- Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire
- Cuckfield - Whitemans Green, West Sussex