THE Coop has sought to reassure customers that their members’ share account money is “fully secure” after news that the retailer’s “divvy” payments could be slashed or suspended triggered a run on its flagship Grand Marché store yesterday.
Long queues formed at the members’ services area as people asked about their dividend payments or withdrew money from their account.
On Tuesday, CI Coop chief executive Mark Cox emailed members informing them that a proposition, allowing its board to determine if dividend rates should be reduced or if no dividend should be paid this year, will be presented at its annual members meeting in May.
He explained that “difficult trading conditions” had affected the retailer’s financial performance and that the dividend scheme, which sees members build up an estimated reward every time they make a qualifying purchase, could be affected.
A Coop employee told the JEP that a queue had started forming in the Grand Marché store from around 10am yesterday as news spread of the possible changes to the “divvy” payments.
Julie Destro, one of the customers who had come to withdraw money from her account, said: “It is quite surprising. A lot of people who have shopped at the Coop for years actually use their divvy for those extra little bits around Christmas or Easter.
“A lot of people over the last few years have also come to rely on that divvy, so for them to think about maybe stopping it is upsetting for a lot of Islanders.”
Another Islander, Zena, said: “My mum’s 80. She’s been shopping here all her life; she goes out of her way to shop here and she’s been loyal. Now individuals like her are paying the price.”
Meanwhile, Pauline said that she had been shopping at the Coop less frequently over the years.
“There’s barely anything in my account any more, but I’m here today to get whatever is left,” she said.
Reacting to the news, customer Leslie Le Hegarat said: “I just couldn’t believe it.”
He added that he knew at least two other people “who said they are never going to shop at the Coop again”.
Some, however, were sympathetic to the retailer’s financial struggles.
Customer Kathryn Roughley said: “It’s always a difficult decision, but businesses have to adapt. At the end of the day you would rather that it stay open.”
Jersey Consumer Council chair Carl Walker said some customers felt there had not been enough of an advanced warning.
He added: “I don’t think that people fully grasped that the divvy depends on the profitability of the Coop.
“People feel like they’ve had a rug pulled from beneath them at the toughest of times.”
A spokesperson for the CI Coop said: “We want to reassure members that the money held in their Class A and B share accounts is fully secure and will continue to earn interest.”
