The Co-op has delivered a message to its members which states that the group cannot make an absolute pledge to stock Fairtrade products because of market pressures.
Though it has promised that if a “Co-operative product can be Fairtrade, it will be Fairtrade,” its board thinks that a combination of the UK price war and the retailer’s strengthening inclination towards convenience stores means that the policy on Fairtrade products must be curtailed.
The board said, as was quoted in the Guardian, the decision was inevitable because of “the austere market climate we continue to face and the strategic direction of the business into convenience shops which naturally increases pressure on space and range.”
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly.
