Nisa announces unprecedented recruitment
Nisa has recruited over 1000 stores in the last 12 months as unprecedented numbers of retailers join the wholesale group.
The 1006 stores mark a 25% leap in recruits over the 805 stores from the previous year, and 2019 has started with 93 stores joining Nisa in the year to date.
Commenting on the results, Steve Leach, sales director at Nisa, said: “As part of the Co-op family, our partners have access to a fantastic range coupled with industry-leading service and support. We continue to invest in our support teams and new store formats to help our partners operate more profitably.
“We have ramped up our operational capacity to ensure that new stores have the support they need to join Nisa as quickly and smoothly as possible.”
Nisa reports that interest in joining the group is strong and it has confirmed that over 100 prospective recruits will attend its annual retail conference at Stoneleigh, the highest number ever.
The company has grown its retail field team by more than 40% to offer increased support to its independent retailers as the group rolls out the benefits from its tie-up with the Co-op.
The last 12 months saw the launch of the latest Evolution format, which offers a higher degree of flexibility to retailers, moving away from a one size fits all model to a modular format.
Since the launch of the Evolution store format, Nisa has completed almost 400 stores in total to date after accelerating its conversion programme. These stores have shown an average trading increase of 12%.
In May last year, the Co-op completed its acquisition of Nisa Retail. The wholesale operation will provide an environment in which independent retailers can flourish and brings enhanced buying capability, allowing Nisa partners to trade their businesses how they choose, backed by competitive prices and promotions with access to a deeper range, including the award-winning Co-op own label.
Partners are offered a full support structure by a strong field team covering retail development managers and regional retail managers, in addition to fresh food development managers and store development managers who help further develop stores.
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