Coolco: The UK-Owned Business in the Food-Retailing Sector

About Coolco

Coolc1o is a UK owned business operating in the food-retailing sector. Established in 1978, Coolco specialised in pre-prepared food – both single items and meals, later branching out into boxes of ingredients prepared to recipe, requiring minimum effort in their final preparation. The company’s low-priced, easily managed meals thrived on the changing socioeconomic climate of the country; which saw a rie in the number of single households and working parents and latterly, rising unemployment and the subsequent growth of precarious work.

Coolco maintained a strong focus on its original vision, with a strap-line that read ‘feeding amilies for less’ (later revised to ‘prepared and priced for busy people’). The vision was underpinned by a clear set of values and informed by market knowledge which strongly informed its strategy. The business grew to £1.5 billion sales by 2000, with over 20,000 employees and 600 stores. The core values of Coolco are:

• to serve its customers by providing convenience food at low cost, without compromising on quality;
• be an equal opportunity employer and provide pay and conditions above the industry norm
• to serve its local communities
• to support charities
• to care for the environment 

 

You have recently applied for one of the Graduate Trainee positions at Coolco. You have reached the second stage of selection and have been given a set of tasks to test your business acumen, skills of critical analysis and evaluation. You will also be assessed on your knowledge of HR and the environment within which it operates, as well as your understanding of the influence of history on the organisation’s future  evelopment.