Company Shop Washington, the flagship North East store which is part of the UK’s leading redistribution organisation Company Shop Group, has marked its first year since opening its doors in the region.
Company Shop colleagues, members and local MP Sharon Hodgson joined together to celebrate the store’s first anniversary – a year in which it has redistributed more than 6.5 million surplus items. This means that perfectly good surplus food and household products, purchased by Company Shop Group from the FMCG supply chain including from major retailers and manufacturers, have been prevented from needlessly going to waste.
The store is open to people working in food manufacturing, the emergency services and the NHS. Alongside generating environmental benefits, it has had a positive impact on the local community, with members typically purchasing products at 53% off the normal retail price, helping to stretch hard-working family budgets. The store has also helped to boost high-quality employment opportunities locally, providing over 30 jobs at all levels across the store.
Company Shop Washington is the sixth store to open as part of Company Shop Group’s successful network of retail stores stretching across the country. The success of the business, which handled over 70 million items across the country last year, has most recently been recognised with the achievement of a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Sustainable Development Category, which the Washington store is set to celebrate later in the month as part of a roadshow event.
By redistributing surplus food and products that may have otherwise gone to waste, the Group is generating transformative social, economic and environmental benefits.
Discussing the store’s first anniversary, Chairman and Founder of Company Shop Group, John Marren, said:
