Co-op AGM 2020 - our question

Chorlton members wanted to put a question to the Co-op AGM on Fairtrade Fortnight.

See the question and answer here (transcript below)

"This Fairtrade Fortnight there seemed to be fewer products, no promotion of the discount, and nothing in stores to say that the Co-op is a champion of Fairtrade. What's gone wrong?" (we were limited to 200 characters)

Steve Murrells, CEO replied:

"Let me start with the numbers and the numbers tell us that we've enjoyed another good year on Fairtrade with good growth, and growth ahead of the competition, so I'm a little bit surprised that you felt that we've gone backwards. There is no doubt though I think that if we could persuade our Fairtrade colleagues to move Fairtrade Fortnight to a different time in the year, the stores could create a lot more excitement around Fairtrade products. As you know at the moment it falls in a very busy period for our food business where it's always competing with other things. If we could move it then I think we'd actually ... grow even faster. The commitment by the buying team though I've seen dramatically change since I've been here, and ... if you look at those seminal areas of flowers, sugar, etc., we've completely got behind the Fairtrade program and, as Allan has just alluded to, really supported those fair trade businesses throughout that period and, more recently have done great things to keep fair trade producers going during this difficult COVID time. So there's more we can do... but certainly what I see on the shop floor is a continued commitment and one where we are growing faster than the competition and celebrating fair trade products far more than anybody else."