A business in growth - new stores & branches
Opening Halstead Travel
March saw us relocate our Halstead Travel branch to a new, convenient location inside Weavers Court. The move was due to the transfer of our Halstead Food store and ensured that we were able to continue offering trusted travel services, expert advice, and competitive deals that customers in a brand-new, modern and easily accessible branch in Halstead.
Opening Ipswich Station and shortlisting for awards
Our first Food store opening of the year was our Ipswich Station Food store in June, delivering a fresh, modern, and highly convenient shopping experience in one of the town’s busiest locations.
Situated in the former ticket office on the left-hand side of the station entrance, the 1,500 square foot store was carefully designed to meet the needs of the station’s on-the-go customers and offers a fast and flexible retail experience at the heart of the town’s transport network.
Ipswich Station has quickly become one of our most popular shopping destinations and has also received international recognition across the retail landscape. The store was shortlisted at the Retail Technology Innovation Hub awards 2025 in the Bricks and Mortar Innovation category, as well as being shortlisted at the upcoming Retail Week awards 2026 in the Best New Store (Small/Medium) category and being named by the Institute for Grocery Distribution's (IGD) for being a ‘Store of the Future’, being one of only 25 stores named across the world.
Opening Woodbridge Road
Our second store opening in June was our brand-new Woodbridge Road Food store in Ipswich. Our Building Services team successfully transformed this former car showroom into a state-of-the-art Food store, fully equipped to serve its local community. This store was the first of three store relocations this year as the opening of Woodbridge Road replaced our former Food store on Brunswick Road.
The larger, more modern store opened with a range of new services including an in-store bakery and hot food offering. Woodbridge Road also features Barista Bar coffee-to-go, freshly squeezed orange juice from iSqueeze, Fwip ice cream and Tango Ice Blast.
Alongside the new services, the site provides ample parking for customers, including four Electric Vehicle Charging stations. The roof of the new store is also fitted with solar panels and is home to our first-ever solar car port, reaffirming our commitment to sustainable retailing. The combination of our Complete Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) with RWE and onsite solar means a huge 55% of the branch's projected energy needs, comes from clean, renewable sources.
Opening Woodbridge Road
Our second store opening in June was our brand-new Woodbridge Road Food store in Ipswich. Our Building Services team successfully transformed this former car showroom into a state-of-the-art Food store, fully equipped to serve its local community. This store was the first of three store relocations this year as the opening of Woodbridge Road replaced our former Food store on Brunswick Road.
The larger, more modern store opened with a range of new services including an in-store bakery and hot food offering. Woodbridge Road also features Barista Bar coffee-to-go, freshly squeezed orange juice from iSqueeze, Fwip ice cream and Tango Ice Blast.
Alongside the new services, the site provides ample parking for customers, including four Electric Vehicle Charging stations. The roof of the new store is also fitted with solar panels and is home to our first-ever solar car port, reaffirming our commitment to sustainable retailing. The combination of our Complete Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) with RWE and onsite solar means a huge 55% of the branch's projected energy needs, comes from clean, renewable sources.
Opening East Bergholt
We relocated our East Bergholt Food store in July following a decision to relocate into a brand-new, modern store. Located in the new Hills Residential housing development, the store replaces the former site on The Street. All colleagues from the previous store transferred to the new site, which provides a refreshed, spacious environment for both customers and colleagues.
The revamped East Bergholt Food store features popular services such as hot food, Barista Bar Coffee, Tango Ice Blast, Fwip ice cream and freshly squeezed orange juice from iSqueeze. We also have a generous amount of on-site parking available for customers.
The Post Office located inside the previous store location was transferred to the new site and has extended its opening hours. The store provided a boost to local employment, with over 40 colleagues working at the site, including 12 new team members recruited from East Bergholt.
Opening Hellesdon
Food and Travel
Our final new store opening came in December with the relocation of our Hellesdon Food store to a larger, modern store on Reepham Road, Norwich. The new store offers an extended product range, including an improved food-to-go offering as well as an on-site Post Office with longer opening hours to match the Food store.
As part of this relocation, we opened our brand-new East of England Co-op Travel branch inside the new Food store. This marks a significant milestone as we continue to build on the success and growth of our Travel business.
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Opening
Hellesdon
Food and Travel
Our final new store opening came in December with the relocation of our Hellesdon Food store to a larger, modern store on Reepham Road, Norwich. The new store offers an extended product range, including an improved food-to-go offering as well as an on-site Post Office with longer opening hours to match the Food store.
As part of this relocation, we opened our brand-new East of England Co-op Travel branch inside the new Food store. This marks a significant milestone as we continue to build on the success and growth of our Travel business.
