Trade is the fastest developing business amongst the variety of activities, which the cooperative organisations within the Central Cooperative Union system are carrying out. It has the highest relative share among them and secures more than 70% of the revenue of the cooperative system, which in 2008 owns 170 warehouses, 3 500 shops and its own COOP Retail Chain.

          The beginning of this fast development was laid in 2006 when the CCU experts developed and the Union's management bodies approved new rules on the organisation of cooperative trade. The measures undertaken since then were the logical and right step aimed at the overall restructuring and development of the activity, which provided a strong impetus and completely changed the image of trade within the cooperative system as soon as the following year. The most important results of these long-term positive impact measures included the establishment of the COOP Retail Chain and the significant development of the common cooperative market.

          The establishment of the cooperative retail store chain started with the launching of 6 model shops. Thus based on the theory, the multiple analysis and workshops the practice of the establishment of the first cooperative retail chain in Bulgaria started. As a result of the hard work of many cooperatives, Cooperative Unions, and the Central Cooperative Union, over the next two years the chain developed rapidly. If by the end of 2006 it included only 74 reconstructed and modernised shops, at the end of 2007 their number reached 259. In 2008 the shops which hold certificates for inclusion in the COOP Retail Chain are over 440. All of them meet the European standards for this kind of outlets, and more than 80% of the people employed in them are young - up to 35 years of age.

          The analysis of the financial – economic operational indicators of the shops in the chain give grounds for pride for the cooperative organisations managing them. The net revenue and profit increased several times compared to those achieved prior to the reconstruction and their inclusion in the chain. Very few shops are still ineffective. The summarised financial data shows that the COOP Retail Chain shops generate half of the annual retail revenue of the cooperative system.

          An important aspect in the development of the retail chain in 2008 is the construction and establishment of new shops. By the beginning of the year the cooperative organisations reconstructed and modernised mainly their existing retail material base. This year more and more cooperative organisations started investigating the possibilities to purchase terrains, launching construction works and opening brand new outlets from the COOP Retail Chain. Examples of such new outlets are those of "Napred" RCC, Targovishte, "Narcoop" CC, Plovdiv, "Trakia" CC, Topolovgrad, "Far" CC, Pomorie, and "Perla" CC, Tsarevo. 2 new retail outlets of Bourgas Regional Cooperative Union and one new outlet for each of "Saglasie" UC, Parvomay and "Strumeshnitsa" Petrich are about to be completed. The organisation of the commercial activities of cooperative organisations in premises rented by them started for the first time in 2008.

          The common cooperative market is the other important factor, having strong influence on the trade activity development trend. As a result of the strict implementation of the four-lateral contracts, in 2008 the national trade company "Coop – Trade and Tourism" AD now has the opportunity to offer to the cooperative organisations a huge variety of goods and assortments. It has concluded contracts for national delivery with more than 130 leading manufacturers and distributors. The cooperative shops are offering more than 5000 assortments. More than 100 of them are manufactured and offered under the COOP brand.

          An important element in the promotion of the COOP Retail Chain and the goods, manufactured especially for it, are the periodic promotion campaigns and the issue of advertisement brochures. The objective is that in 2009 the promotions are organised and held on a monthly basis.

          An important factor for the future development of the common cooperative market and the attainment of better operational results is the restructuring and improvement of the cooperative wholesales. And regardless of the fact that this year the activity has a 40% growth in sales compared to 2007, the fast development of the COOP Retail Chain is posing a serious challenge to it. The increased sales volumes in the shops require the wholesale warehouses to have bigger and more diverse deliveries. At the same time the timely deliveries to the shops are also of importance. The use of different mark-ups in the warehouses makes the implementation of national promotional campaigns difficult. An in-depth analysis of the possibilities of each Cooperative Union to meet the increased needs of its shops through independently organised wholesales is imperative in order to resolve these challenges. As a result of the analysis the steps required for the restructuring of the activities, the alignment of the warehouse bases in accordance with the requirements to the wholesale market places and the securing of the required turnover and motor vehicle will be undertaken.

           The analysis of the trends which emerged over the last few years in respect of cooperative trade provide grounds to forecast increase in the sales volumes in the future as well. An actual threat to this positive trend, however, pose the potential difficulties in the management of operations, resulting from the delayed launching of the commercial information system and the ineffective and incomplete use of its functionalities.

           The establishment of the commercial information system started in 2007, while the development of the delivery and sales management software in the shops and the wholesale warehouses is already completed. All tests related to the reporting and summary of the information into the national database have already been carried out. An overall set of schedules, generated automatically from the system, allowing complete analysis of the commercial operations of the cooperative organisations: planning of the required volumes of deliveries, selection of a supplier depending on the best prices, quality and possibilities for national deliver offered; analysis of the prices and the generation of a common price policy in the cooperative system, etc.

          The commercial information system is completely ready at the level of regional and central database. There are various applications developed for automation of the delivery and sale requests, granting of discounts, generation of various types of schedules, etc. Unfortunately, scepticism is again in the air like the one associated with the initial stage of establishment of the retail chain and the functionalities it offers for the optimisation of the trade process are not used to their maximum. And this destroys the effect of its operation at national level. The establishment of the COOP Retail Chain and its development over the last few years do not give grounds for any such scepticism. The implementation and effective functioning of the information system is the final stage of the implementation of the overall concept for the development of the commercial activities of the Central Cooperative Union and without it the concept will not be able to fully demonstrate its advantages.

          The dynamic development of the commercial activities, the narrowing of the market segments and the continuously increasing requirements of the consumers places the cooperative trade before new challenges and before the alternative for change and choice. A change that requires adaptation and flexibility to the new aspects of the quickly developing market environment and world. And choice of the most effective and rational way to achieve that.

           Let us put some joint efforts to make the right choice and to make the required change in order to turn our COOP shops in the preferred place for shoppers in Bulgaria and the largest convenience store chain.