Co-op Paisley

Following a strategic review, The Co-operative Group decided to exit traditional department store retailing to concentrate on its core supermarket business.  The buying and merchandising team was disbanded and Gordon Brothers was engaged to close the 38 stores within the Non-Food division, which it did, to the complete satisfaction of the Client.

The department store in Paisley had been an anchor tenant in one of the town’s main shopping centres and,  unable to find another tenant following the closure, the landlord exercised its right to insist that the Co-op not only continue to trade, but also to trade as a department store, precluding any change of use.  In the absence of its own resource, the Co-op’s management engaged Gordon Brothers to re-open and manage the store on its behalf.

Gordon Brothers immediately called on its buying, merchandising and supply chain teams to establish a store layout and full range plan; and to buy a complete product assortment that satisfied the landlord’s requirement for a full department store look and feel.  Within six weeks, all stock had been delivered and merchandised into the store by Gordon Brothers’ field operations team. To ensure a successful re-launch, a marketing package was developed, which included many opening offers, supported by press and POS material.

Whilst legal responsibility for the store remains with the Co-op, responsibility for all day-to-day management – including people, ranging, ordering and pricing - resides with Gordon Brothers.  The Gordon Brothers’ on-site field consultant, alongside the finance and buying divisions, reviews sales, stock and profitability. This lean management structure, with devolved responsibility, means that decisions are taken quickly and executed efficiently.

From the start of the project in 2007, simple and clear processes, which have been refined over time,  were developed and introduced for the management of the project and for communicating with the Client, who is now able to concentrate on the core supermarket business, untroubled by the need to manage an extraneous division.

John Forrest, Head of Non-Food for CWS, said, “We were in the final stages of trading out the Non-Food division, in partnership with Gordon Brothers, when it became evident that the ‘stay-open’ clause attached to the store in Paisley was non-negotiable.  We asked Gordon Brothers to find a solution at extremely short notice; and they did.  After successfully trading the store out ‘broom-clean’ - as part of the overall closure of the business - they subsequently re-fitted, re-stocked and re-merchandised the full 40,000 sq ft floor area, then re-launched the business; all within 6 weeks.  All trading elements, including stock, staff and legislation, were, and are, managed by them.  They continue to successfully run the operation on behalf of The Co-operative Group; and to the outside world, they are invisible.”