The Co-Operative Accelerates Brand To Cover Motor Business

Released on: November 2, 2009, 6:04 am
Author: The Co-Operative Motor Group
Industry: Automotive

The Co-operative Group today unveiled the latest phase in the rebranding of its family of businesses – a positive change for almost 20 sites in its £250 million motor retailing operation.

The rebrand of 19 showrooms as The Co-operative Motor Group is part of The Co-operative’s £1.5 billion re-branding exercise – the largest in UK corporate history.

The dealerships, which until now, have traded under the Sunwin Motors brand, will be renamed in a move that marks their formal induction into the family of businesses, which includes food, funerals, travel, pharmacy, motors, financial services and legal services. More than two-thirds of the Group’s 5,000 outlets have been rebranded over the last two years.

Mike Austin, Managing Director of The Co-operative Motor Group said: “Sunwin has worked hard to establish a trusted reputation in the Midlands and North of England, and we intend to build on that by adopting The Co-operative’s strong brand.

“This is a name change only but it is the right time to make that change. The relaunch of The Co-operative brand has been a major success, and the financial performance of The Co-operative Group is stronger than ever, as is trust in our brand.”

The first of the Group’s dealerships to be rebranded will be the Renault dealership in Preston on October 27. The rebrand programme will be rolled out to the rest of the dealerships over the next (x) months.

The Co-operative Motor Group, formerly Sunwin, which represents nine major motor manufacturers (Renault, Nissan, Mazda, Peugeot, Fiat, Suzuki, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep), has reported sales of more than £250 million for the last financial year, and in the space of just over two years it has refitted more than two-thirds of its 4,300 used cars outlets with the new look.

Contact Details: Keith Willoughby
The Co-Operative Motor Group

keith.willoughby@coop.co.uk
01274 377 300