SCOTMID is rolling out its in-store bakery format to a further 50 stores in the coming months as it aims to establish "points of difference" from competitors on the high street.
The bakeries have been added to 40 shops across the co-operative's estate and involve supply partnerships with local producers such as Stephens the Bakers, JG Ross, Aulds, Goodfellow & Steven, Stuart's of Buckhaven and The Breadwinner Bakery.
Scotmid chief executive John Brodie confirmed outlets around Scotland would be upgraded before the end of the financial year in January 2014 and over a longer term he is keen to add bakeries to all 190 food stores.
He said: "The partners we have chosen have a really strong quality bakery offer and it allows them a route to market they might not otherwise have given their scale.
"It also gives us a real point of difference in store.
"Not only are we seeing the sales of the morning rolls and other bakery items [increasing] but people are buying something else from us as well."
Separately a store format based on fresh produce and locally sourced products has also been rolled out to 10 locations across Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow and Aberdeenshire with more to follow.
In Prestonpans, East Lothian, a pilot of a value store - with more £1 products and value ranges - is being trialled.
Mr Brodie said: "If we don't innovate in the current market we won't even stand still we will go backwards. It is all part of our future vision for our stores to make them different from others in the marketplace."
That came as the co-operative - which includes Semichem, Fragrance House, property interests and funeral services - posted an increase in its half-year surplus before tax from £405,000 to £770,000 even though turnover dipped from £211.1 million to £209.8m.
A deal to merge with Penrith Co-operative - Scotmid's first move into England as a food retailer in its 154-year history - is expected to be given regulatory approval towards the end of next month and will add a further nine food convenience outlets.
However, Mr Brodie said the agreement is unlikely to have a major of impact on the results for the current financial year.
Trading at chemist chain Semichem was said to have been sluggish in the first four months of the trading year but picked up once the weather improved in June and July.
Mr Brodie said there are signs of further pick up in recent months although he pointed out Northern Ireland, where there are 25 Semichem shops, remains behind Scotland and the north of England.
He said: "There are still challenges around the disposable income of people and consumer confidence." He added that some stores were now trialling additional services including lottery, cashback and Paypoint for bill payments while the introduction of cigarettes at 48 locations had increased footfall.
The property arm is close to buying 12 flats in central Edinburgh in a deal believed to be worth seven-figures as it continues to do well from the buoyant rental market in the capital.
Preparation work on a possible nine-flat development to the rear of the Gorgie Road store is also being done.
Additional tenants were secured on commercial property premises in Uddingston and South Queensferry in the six months to July 27.
Mr Brodie said: "If opportunities arise for [property] investments in the current market we will certainly look at it."
Potential new locations for funeral homes are being considered and there was an upgrade of Scotmid's Thomas Brown premises in Broxburn, West Lothian.
Scotmid has around 350 retail and service outlets across its brands with Scottish premises stretching from Wick to Castle Douglas and employing close to 5000 people.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article