Co-operative Retail Services (CRS) yesterday confirmed that losses almost doubled to #25.6m before tax in the year to end-January, throwing the mutual co-operative movement into sharp focus once again. The equivalent losses for the preceding year were #13.5m. Taking in supermarkets, department stores and funeral parlours, CRS is the largest single co-operative retail society and is undertaking a four-year reconstruction programme which began in 1996.
Last year a controversial #1200m opportunistic break-up bid by entrepreneur Andrew Regan to acquire CRS's sister retailing operation the Co-operative Wholesale Society failed but did serve to concentrate attention on the poorly-performing food sectors.
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