Co-op Drafts In Newspaper Marketer Olins To Aid Revival Plan

The boss of the body which promotes Britain's national newspapers is being recruited by the country's biggest mutual as it seeks to forge ties with a million prospective members.

Sky News understands that the Co-op Group will announce this week the appointment of Rufus Olins to the new role of chief membership officer - a crucial element of a revival plan drawn up after a governance crisis in 2013 which cast a shadow over the entire movement's future.

Mr Olins, who will step down as the boss of NewsWorks to take up the role, will be responsible for the implementation of the Co-op's new membership programme, including the restoration of its long-treasured "divi".

The initiative‎, which will involve more than 5m cards being sent to Co-op members, is due to get underway during the autumn.

It will come as the mutual enters the latest phase of its rebuilding plan, having repaired much of the damage caused by a £1.5bn black hole on the balance sheet of the bank which bears the Co-op's name.

‎At its annual meeting in May, the Co-op unveiled a new range of benefits aimed at returning more than £100m annually by 2018 to members and their communities.

It also outlined a number of targets, including generating half of sales across its businesses from Co-op members - up from 25% at its food retail division.

Under the new scheme, members will receive a 5% reward for purchases of Co-op own-brand products and services, with a further 1% going to local causes.

Richard Pennycook, the Co-op chief executive, said at its AGM that the intention was "to make the rewards for members who trade with the Co-op more meaningful and community-focused".

"Big business is often accused of taking money out of communities - we are putting it back in," he said.

Mr Pennycook also announced that he would take a hefty pay cut to reflect‎ the fact that the group had come through the most intensive phase of its rescue plan.

Its recovery involved the sale of several of its divisions, including its pharmacy operations and agricultural land, and an overhaul of the Co-op's governance structure.

The organisation remains the UK's sixth-biggest food retailer, with sales showing strong growth over the last 12 months.

Mr Olins will be the most prominent external hiring by Mr Pennycook since Mike Bracken, the Government's former chief digital officer, was recruited a year ago.

A former executive at Haymarket, Lord Heseltine's publishing group, Mr Olins is a well-known figure in the UK media sector.

The Co-op declined to comment on Mr Olins' appointment.