The company has agreed to buy rival chain Somerfield, which will propel it into the grocery big league and see its relatively low-profile executive director of marketing, Patrick Allen, join the likes of Marks & Spencer's Steven Sharp and Asda's Rick Bendel in the prestigious retail marketing directors' club.
Allen is unfazed by the £1.6bn deal, which will give the mutual a total of 3000 grocery stores in the UK, making it the nation's fifth-biggest supermarket, with net sales of £8bn and 8% market share.
He is focused on the group's £1.56bn rebrand of its 4200 UK outlets, which range from pharmacies to banks, to a single identity, a task he was handed immediately after his appointment in July last year, as well as a £50m ad relaunch in 2009.
A campaign using the 'Good for everyone' strapline will promote the group's ethical approach across its businesses, as well as its loyalty scheme; this has 3m members, who receive cash payments based on the points they earn when they use any of its services.
The activity is intended to revive the chain, which was the biggest food seller in the 60s, before falling into a decline amid competition from supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's.
'The Co-operative is enjoying a renaissance,' Allen says. 'We're a million miles from the old company.'
The grocer will push the fairtrade credentials of its premium label Truly Irresistible as an added-value point of difference. It is ramping up investment in the range, which launched in 2003 and accounts for 7% of the company's retail sales, with additional lines to rival other supermarket premium own-brands, such as Tesco Finest.
Allen, a former United Co-operatives head of marketing, who beat his counterpart at The Co-op, Zoe Morgan, to the top job when the companies merged, is also concentrating on the group's nascent media centre, which will provide campaign planning across its media channels, including digital screens, in-store radio, direct mail and magazines.
'It could change the buying habits of media buyers and is a great revenue stream,' Allen says. 'We are on track to make £11.5m by the end of the year.'
Allen's focus and tenacity date back to his teenage years, when he worked on his uncle's fruit and vegetable stall in Bury market. 'The 3am starts were tough but it was a good school in negotiation and quality control,' he says.
Unlike many of his classically trained FMCG marketer counterparts, Allen's background is in finance. Having taken a degree in philosophy and social psychology at the University of Bradford, he trained as a chartered accountant - 'all my friends were getting into finance but I soon decided it wasn't for me' - before returning to Bradford to do a PhD.
While studying, Allen was offered a job as a lecturer and then set up a training and consultancy business attracting clients such as IBM, Allied Domecq, Sainsbury's, BBC and Emirates. 'I'm not particularly creative but I love research and analysis,' he says.
The Somerfield acquisition, subject to approval by the OFT, will make The Co-operative Group the country's biggest chain in the convenience sector, and comes as Waitrose is trialling convenience formats in an effort to rival Marks & Spencer Simply Food, Tesco Express and Sainsbury's Local.
Allen is confident the company's ethical position differentiates it. 'We have nothing to fear,' he says. 'We're not frightened of anyone in convenience.'
With one of the biggest UK rebranding exercises under his belt, next year's switch of 600 of Somerfield's 880 stores to The Co-operative Food identity should seem light work for Allen.
The acceleration in activity The Co-op is likely to undergo in coming months will undoubtedly appeal to Allen, who cites Italian luxury sports car marque Maserati as a favourite brand. With plans to add bigger city-centre stores, the big four should watch their backs.
Career history:
- 1987-1990 Accountant, Pannel Kerr Forster
- 1990-1992 International financial analyst, Electronic Data Systems
- 1992-1996 Lecturer in strategic management and marketing, Bradford University School of Management
- 1996-2004 Managing director, PA Consulting and Training
- 2004-2007 Head of marketing, United Co-operatives
- 2007-present Executive director of marketing, The Co-operative Group