© Copyright 2024 COOP Jednota Slovakia, All rights reserved.
COMPANY PROFILE
Basic Information
Mission
To provide support and service to our members and franchisees, to act as a purchasing, service and marketing centre of the COOP Jednota group, to defend and represent cooperative interests before state authorities, interest organizations and business partners. The purpose of existence is sustainable retail of food and related services for customers and members of cooperatives. To continue the spirit of this more than 150-year-old tradition and legacy of mutual food and credit cooperatives which came to existence since 1845.
The relevance of sustainability:
Vision
By fulfilling its mission, COOP Jednota Slovensko wants to ensure that the COOP Jednota group:
Strategic priorities of COOP Jednota
Fundamental principles of cooperation in COOP Jednota
COOP JEDNOTA GROUP PERFORMANCE AND MARKET POSITION
Consumer cooperatives running COOP Jednota stores achieved a total retail turnover of EUR 1.957 billion in the year 2023, which was by 10.5 % more than in 2022. The total revenues of COOP Jednota-s amounted to EUR 1.699 billion and were up by 10.8 % year-on-year. The COOP Jednota group logistics centres revenue amounted to a total of EUR 0.812 billion, which was by 12.8 % more than in 2022. The aggregate revenue of the COOP Jednota group amounted to EUR 2.511 billion in 2023 and increased by 11.5 % compared to 2022.
COOP Jednota-s are intensively working on the development and modernization of their stores in accordance with their strategic goal of being as close as possible to the customers and keeping the position of the strongest domestic chain. A total of 17 new stores were opened and 228 renovated for customers, which represents a reinvestment of a total of almost EUR 47 million in 2023. A significant event in the structure and modernization of the store network was the July 2023 transfer of 70 COOP Jednota supermarkets in all regions of Slovakia to the higher Tempo SUPERMARKET format with a wider range of quality goods, especially from Slovak producers, with the aim of satisfying even the most demanding customers. The COOP Jednota system strengthened its position in Bratislava in 2023, too. At the beginning of November, COOP Jednota Nové Zámky opened a modern large Tempo SUPERMARKET store with a sales area of 1,600 m2 , which is part of the Tehelko shopping centre in the premises of the Národný futbalový štadión (National Football Stadium).
COOP Jednota, a traditional retail chain, focuses primarily on the sale of high-quality domestic production. The actual sale of Slovak food in COOP Jednota is more than 70 %, which is the highest share among all food chains operating in Slovakia. As much as 85 % of the products under the COOP Jednota private label come from Slovak suppliers. The COOP Jednota group supports domestic economy and business in the food sector in Slovakia through long-term cooperation, preferentially with Slovak suppliers and producers. The wide range of local products in the stores symbolizes the diversity of the regions and, at the same time, this cooperation brings economic sustainability to local producers. Regional COOP Jednota-s cooperate with local bakers, butchers and processors and/or producers of milk and dairy products, thereby ensuring maximum freshness and quality for customers.
The year 2023 was affected by persisting high inflation resulting in weakening of the purchasing power of households in Slovakia. The aggregate retail sales for the entire year 2023 reached a value by 4.5 % lower than in 2022. The ever-increasing prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing and energy had a significant impact on the average annual inflation of 10.5 %. In 2023, food and non-alcoholic beverages went up in prices on average by more than 17 %, housing and energy by more than 9 %. These two items make up almost a half of the expenses percentage of Slovak households. The purchasing behaviour of customers is changing, customers are cautious, buy with prudence and in smaller quantities, focus much more on discounted and promotion offers as well as private label products. Given that the decline in overall inflation in 2023 was faster than expected, primarily due to falling energy prices, a gradual acceleration of the economic growth rate is expected and the recovery of consumption should also be supported by the growth of real wages.
RETAIL CHAINS
One of the priorities of the COOP Jednota system is to be the closest to its customers and to ensure shop presence even in places where other retail chains operating on the Slovak market have no ambition to open new stores. COOP Jednota, the largest and densest retail network in Slovakia, is composed of three formats, i.e. Tempo SUPERMARKET, SUPERMARKET and POTRAVINY, which include a total of 1,968 stores. The POTRAVINY (GROCERY SHOP) chain, which is the most widespread in Slovakia, has its assortment composition and store size tailored to the needs of customers in the countryside and small towns. In 2023, the POTRAVINY chain of the COOP Jednota system included 1,301 stores. The SUPERMARKET store format offers customers space for comfortable shopping in 577 stores of an area from 200 m2 to 500 m2 located almost all over Slovakia. The store staff is constantly monitoring customer preferences so that the SUPERMARKET format assortment scope and affordability appeal both to average and more demanding customers. The number of stores in this format is increasing from year to year. The emergence of the COOP Jednota Tempo SUPERMARKET format is the response to the goal of building a supermarket with a wide range of quality and fresh products and being able to satisfy even the most demanding customers. Additional 72 stores were transferred to this format as part of the development of the Tempo SM chain in 2023. The stores have an area of over 500 m2 and in 2023, the COOP Jednota system operated a total of 90 stores of this format. The intention of the Tempo SUPERMARKET chain is to bring customers something extra every day, to offer quality goods and services, to promptly respond to their demand, to offer a wide range of fresh goods, products of our COOP Jednota private label, including premium ones, various novelties, as well as an assortment of household manufactured goods. COOP Jednota stores are supplied from 9 logistics centres. 62 COOP JEDNOTA SLOVENSKO 63
MARKETING
The main 2023 priorities in marketing communication were supporting Slovak production, communicating COOP Jednota private label and sale support. The marketing mix reflected the tradition of established communication goals, support to selected image attributes of quality, Slovakness, freshness and value for money, as well as the current situation on the Slovak retail market. All activities and campaigns are covered by the still popular communication concept of Bača a Honelník (the Shepherd and His Helper), which helps to build a positive image through communication messages and naturally creates positive associations with the private label.
Sales promotion
Various forms of sales support aiming to motivate customers to repeatedly visit and shop in COOP Jednota stores are one of the essential pillars of building customer loyalty. Special, limited and exclusive offers of attractive and high-quality consumer branded goods or various gifts added to the purchase are the most common tool.
Consumer competitions
COOP Jednota customers have the possibility to participate in traditional consumer competitions and combine pleasure with benefits – buying at a bargain and, at the same time, getting a chance to win one of the attractive prizes. Competitions always focus on a theme and they are organized during peak shopping seasons which are traditionally associated with food shopping. In 2023, customers had the opportunity to participate in 3 competitions; the Easter and Christmas ones and then, Kolesomania (Wheelmania) in summer.
Social media marketing
Creating a TikTok account was a novelty in communication on social media of the COOP Jednota system in 2023. The continuous content creation on this platform generated millions of video views and reached a younger age group.
(Non)traditional COOP Jednota recipes
In 2023, the online recipe platform www.netradicnerecepty.sk brought its followers the Duel with Dominika and Dušan online recipe show. One could get taste of vegan and vegetarian recipes from Dominika‘s great “cuisine“. On the other hand, Dušan showed his delicate taste in traditional recipes with a non-traditional touch.
COOP JEDNOTA PRIVATE LABEL
The COOP Jednota system has been offering its private label products to its customers already for 24 years. Over the years, the product portfolio has been shaped and refined in an effort to offer customers quality products from Slovak suppliers at favourable prices as an ideal alternative to branded products. In 2023, the private label product portfolio included 762 products, of which more than 85 % were delivered by Slovak suppliers. The wide range of products is regularly and systematically reviewed and added new products included in the categories and nests representing the COOP Jednota system. COOP Jednota regularly participates with its private label products in trade and consumer surveys and competitions. The opportunity to have presentations at domestic and foreign events gives us new experiences and valuable feedback from the lay and professional public. This feedback received is an important indicator for our further course, development, innovation and inclusion of new products in the product portfolio.
LOYALTY PROGRAMME
In 2023, the COOP Jednota retail network loyalty programme showed the spirit of changes and modernization pursuing digitalization and improvement of customer services. The „Nákupná karta Klasik“ and „COOP Jednota Klub” loyalty cards are a part of the COOP Jednota loyalty scheme and, at the same time, a marketing tool. The COOP Jednota Klub loyalty card brought a new plastic card visual identity to the customers. A new website for the loyalty programme, www.coopklub.sk, was launched together with a customer account. The customer account, which can be created by all existing and new customers, gives customers an overview of the benefits of the loyalty programme and allows them to online update their personal data, request a duplicate card or decide to use an e-document. COOP Jednota had almost a million loyalty card holders by 31 December 2023. Motivating customers to reduce the environmental burden by using a virtual loyalty card or an electronic receipt (e-document) was also part of the changes to the loyalty programme of COOP Jednota in 2023. This eliminates the negative impacts associated with the production of plastic cards and the printing of receipts. In 2023, almost 5 million e-documents were created within the COOP Jednota system, which represents a saving of 1,350 km of paper weighing more than 5 tons.
Loyalty card holders are mainly motivated by getting a discount on their future purchase paid out twice a year, usually during Christmas and Easter. COOP Jednota customers do appreciate this benefit in the form of a purchase discount for a long time. The share of the loyalty card shopping in the total retail turnover was more than 55 %. The quantified discount in 2023 amounted to a total of EUR 11,093,192.59.
In 2023, the COOP Jednota mobile application was redesigned and also linked to the customer account. Customers who have created a customer account in www.coopklub.sk have, among other things, the possibility to view the history of their purchases, e-documents or check the total volume of purchases in the current half-year in the COOP Jednota mobile application. They are able to see the amount of the discount to which they are entitled and a list of stores, where they can claim the discount in the pay period.
THE JEDNOTA MAGAZINE
Publishing cooperative press has a historical tradition in the consumer cooperatives system. The Družstevný obzor and Družstevné noviny periodicals, addressing primarily the membership base of consumer cooperatives, were the predecessors of the Jednota magazine. The Jednota magazine started to continue their work in 2003. It was introduced the first time as a customer-oriented title seeking to strengthen customer bond with the strongest domestic chain; today, it is already a part of the traditional ways of communication of the COOP Jednota system with shoppers in their stores. Once a month, the 32 pages of the magazine bring them relaxation in the form of articles and practical advice with an emphasis on the activities of COOP Jednota and individual consumer cooperatives. Even in 2023, the magazine continuously communicated the status of COOP Jednota as the largest Slovak food retailer with the largest share in domestic food. ANNUAL REPORT 2023 64 COOP JEDNOTA SLOVENSKO 65 The magazine brought closer the events happening in the consumer cooperatives sector, achievements, news, marketing and foundation activities and social responsibility in the COOP Jednota system. The constant emphasis on Slovakness, which naturally corresponds with the starting points of the system of consumer cooperatives system is an important motif of the individual magazine issues.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN COOP JEDNOTA STORES
In the COOP Jednota stores, we try to keep up with modern technologies that make shopping for our customers more pleasant and the work of our staff easier. Customers expect not only a sufficiently broad assortment and nice shops but also comfortable shopping. In the COOP Jednota system, we have been introducing technological novelties and innovations in selected stores that simplify the work of the store staff, contribute to the protection of the environment and make shopping easier for our customers since 2013. Technical innovations in the COOP Jednota network include: automated measurement system, electronic price tags, LED price tags for fruit and vegetables, self-service checkouts, e-receipt, musical marketing, online and/or mobile application shopping.
Self-service checkouts
Self-service checkouts are a long-term trend bringing customers more comfort and a higher standard of service. The number of these checkouts has been growing in COOP stores since 2015. Increasingly more customers are making use of this option. By using them, customers enjoy faster shopping as they avoid queueing at one cash register and, furthermore, they are also helping the staff. Hybrid cash registers are also being installed in our stores. They may be used as ordinary cash registers and by turning the display to face the customer, the cash register is turned into a self-service checkout. The 47th store using self-service cash registers was opened in 2023.
E-receipt
E-receipt is a service that enables COOP Jednota loyalty card holders to receive an electronic version of the receipt in their customer account or e-mail box instead of a receipt printed in the store. While setting up a customer account at www.coopklub.sk, loyalty card holders have the opportunity to opt for the service and they may also change the settings directly in the „E-receipt“ section of their customer account at any time.
Online shopping
Online shopping in the form of „click and collect“ has been used in the COOP Jednota system since 2018, namely in the Liptovský Mikuláš and Žilina COOP Jednota-s. Customers have the possibility of shopping from the comfort of their homes by choosing the items via the website and have their purchase made ready for pick-up at the store. Thanks to this service, customers save time on the shop floor and also at the cash register. Customers can pick up their purchases at 34 Žilina COOP Jednota stores and at two stores of Liptovský Mikuláš COOP Jednota consumer cooperative, which also offers home delivery in the city of Liptovský Mikuláš and its vicinity.
Customer services
We also offer our customers various additional services, such as COOPkasa, CashBack, uploading mobile credit and using discounts from the loyalty programme, in our stores. In the context of the pandemic, interest in paying with cards and/or electronic meal cards, which are gradually replacing paper meal vouchers, has increased in recent years. Thanks to the COOPkasa service, customers may pay various types of invoices at the checkout (e.g. invoices from mobile operators, energy costs, local fees). Customers have even the option to pay invoices during their shopping on weekends. They have the option of paying in cash or by payment card. In order to save time, customers of our stores have the CashBack service available, due to which they can withdraw cash directly at the checkout. This service is especially popular among customers in settlements where there are no ATMs. The maximum amount of cash withdrawals is 50 euros and it is tied to a purchase worth at least 5 euros. The requirement for enjoying these benefits is to be a holder of a payment card.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Environmental policy and an environmentally sound approach are important strategic pillars of the COOP Jednota domestic retail chain. COOP Jednota focuses on satisfying the needs of customers in a way which has a minimum impact on the environment. For the sake of this goal, COOP Jednota organizes separate collection of used and non-functional fluorescent lamps and batteries for its customers in stores, which are equipped with separate plastic collection containers where customers may dispose of these items free of charge. In 2023, COOP Jednota stores collected 34,555.96 kg of used batteries, an increase by 18 % compared to 2022, and 21,695 pcs of used non-functional fluorescent lamps, i.e. 1,653.47 kg, which is an increase by 14.3 % compared to the previous year. COOP Jednota has also environment friendly alternatives to plastic bags, namely paper bags, cotton bags, cloth bags as well as bags made of eco or recycled materials (bags made of recycled PET bottles), for their customers.
The COOP Jednota network is continuously dedicating a lot of effort to the protection of the environment and is investing in new environment friendly technologies and energy equipment. It invests in new refrigerating equipment based on a CO2 refrigerant as well as in closed equipment that can save more than 20 % of electric energy. By expanding environment friendly technological devices, such as electronic price tags and LED price tags in COOP Jednota stores, the paper and toner, both of which are defined as hazardous waste, requirement is reduced. The stores work on replacing conventional fluorescent lamps with LED lamps which have 2-3 times higher light output efficiency and lower electricity consumption compared to ordinary light sources. At the same time, COOP Jednota strives for minimizing the carbon footprint and energy requirement in its operations by optimizing energy management. Temperature and humidity measurement systems are being introduced in stores since 2020. These systems provide an overview of energy consumption, storage and, in case of irregularities, also send notifications. Such devices can also detect damaged refrigerating or freezing equipment that cools goods improperly. In this way, energy requirement can be optimized and directly reduced. Measuring devices are already installed in 420 stores of the Tempo SUPERMARKET and SUPERMARKET formats and are being installed in other stores.
The COOP Jednota makes unfailing effort to expand the network of deposit refund collection places in the whole of Slovakia since the introduction of the deposit refund scheme on 1 January 2022 to bring collection places at a convenient distance from home to customers. The domestic COOP Jednota retail chain has the highest number of collection places of all retail chains in Slovakia. Almost a half of the 3,269 collection places available in Slovakia by 31 December 2023, which is exactly 1,575 places, are in the Jednota COOP network. Up to 1,257 stores in the COOP Jednota network, which is the most among all retail chains in Slovakia, voluntarily participated in the deposit refund scheme. The deposit refund scheme is an investment with a positive impact on the environment and entire society. At the same time, the deposit refund scheme is an opportunity to spread environment friendly approach through collection places to all regions of Slovakia. Consumers returned more than 220 million returnable packaging to our stores over the entire period. All our collection places are displayed on a map at the www.jedotneekologicky.sk website where each customer can find the nearest collection place. Our extensive network of collection places made it possible to arrange collecting of returnable refund packaging from customers even in villages where they would not otherwise have this option. The fastest collecting machine in Central Europe was put into operation at Dunajská Lužná in December. ANNUAL REPORT 2023 66 COOP JEDNOTA
COOP EURO – INTERNATIONAL PURCHASING ALLIANCE
The COOP EURO international purchasing alliance, a.s. was founded by the following three cooperating Central European retail organizations in 2000:
COOP EURO is a modern European company providing national COOP headquarters unique opportunities in integrated commercial and complementary activities. The importance of the company stands on a strong business partnership, sharing of business know-how and comprehensive knowledge of the combined market and regional specific features.
The company operates with its COOP Premium private label in three important Central European markets. This private label offers consumers premium quality and complements private labels of the national members of the alliance. The goal pursued by unfailing building and developing the COOP Premium private label is to offer its shareholders and consumers a strong and modern retail label. This product line will satisfy the needs of customers having the highest quality demands. The products are characterized by a favourable price compared to premium brands and by high quality. A total of 128 products were included in this category by the end of 2023.
COOP JEDNOTA GROUP EMPLOYEES
The number of employees
COOP Jednota Slovensko, consumer cooperative, employed a total of 71 employees, of which almost 60 % were women, by 31 December 2023.
The number of all employees in the Jednota COOP system, including logistics centres, was more than 14,000, of which 85 % were women, by 31 December 2023. Out of the total number of employees of consumer cooperatives, more than 11,400 employees worked in stores by 31 December 2023.
The strategy of human resources management and development is based on strict observance of the equal opportunity principle. Almost 50 % of women work in the management of consumer cooperatives.
Staff education and development in 2023
An essential part of human resources management and development is the education and development of employees at all levels of management of the COOP Jednota group.
In 2023, we focused on education and development of:
When implementing our COOP Jednota group employee training policy, we build on voluntariness in accordance with rules that respect the interest of the employer as well as the interest of the employee; flexibility in forms of education including active use of the EDUMIO digital platform as a priority in internal company education; relevance in relation to employee and employer needs; complexity in the sense of focusing on coherent educational programmes, the so-called academies. Our attention focused on individual development needs as well as learning in small groups to ensure having room for active participation of attendees.
We implemented not only mandatory training in the field of health and safety at work but also training in the field of personal data protection and GDPR, we retrained selected employees from our stores in the issues of internal processes at the regional level by using the EDUMIO platform. The EDUMIO platform was also a meaningful tool in the adaptation process of new employees in stores. Employees in 13 consumer cooperatives made active use of it. The implemented digital platform enabled higher flexibility and variability of education and, at the same time, fostered employee motivation to work on self-development.
We launched regional projects to link human resources management and trade in 2023. Four projects were successfully implemented and their best practices were shared for inspiration and launch of other regional projects. As it was necessary to identify the real needs in education and development of the target groups in top management, we implemented their mapping by online questionnaire. The results of the survey were the basis for designing the 2024 development programmes for this target group both in the field of management and specialisation education.
We staged the COOP Academy of Creativity intended for employees in marketing to offer them an opportunity to improve their skills, among others, in topics focused on the use of artificial intelligence in marketing. The target group of purchasing officers had the opportunity to attend the COOP Academy of Negotiation to enhance their key competencies and skills. We implemented the COOP Academy of Inspector‘s Work in 2023; this academy is intended for new employees at the position of an inspector – regional manager. Module management education is a combination of individual and group coaching. A group of internal lecturers completed specialized and lecturing development workshops and, at the same time, intensively passed on their knowledge and acquired work skills in merchandising, category management and food safety during training courses.
We also carried out the second stage of the next COOP Talents programme series which is intended for internal employees with the potential of holding a managerial position at the store floor level. We continued our proven model in the education and development of store managers and deputy managers; in this model we pay attention to juniority and seniority in terms of previous employee practical experience because the individual needs and development requirements were more effectively taken into account in the target groups created in this way. In addition to the quality of training content, we care to create opportunities for sharing successful solutions – the so-called „best practice“ and mutual inspiration for work.
We have designed a special COOP Mentoring programme for senior store managers and deputy managers, which is planned to be launched in 2024. The Junior Work Academy was designed for junior store managers and deputy managers to give them an opportunity to learn in areas and topics that are specifically aimed at supporting manager novices in stores. The programme includes topics such as organization of work in the store, store economy, team leadership, store hygiene, food legislation, merchandising.
We invested almost EUR 390,000 in education in 2023. The flexible use of online and face-to-face forms of education enabled us to effectively manage the allocated funds with an emphasis on education quality.
The COOP Jednota group code of conduct
The Code of Conduct is a key document that lays down uniform ethical rules and standards of conduct for employees, officials, bodies and individual consumer cooperatives of the COOP Jednota group in mutual relations as well as in external relations. The code defines ethical values and principles that the members of the COOP Jednota group acknowledge and commit to. To foster the ethical rules, the individual consumer cooperatives have appointed ethical conduct stewards who are responsible for addressing situations related to ethics and ethical conduct in the areas defined by the Code of Conduct. By implementing the rules of the Code of Conduct of the COOP Jednota system, we want to strengthen the professionalism of work performance in order to support the trust of customers shopping in the COOP Jednota system.
AWARDS IN 2023
Consumers' Choice – Best 2023 Novelty
COOP Jednota succeeded in four categories in the Consumers’ Choice – The Best 2023 Novelty consumer survey. PREMIUM COOP farm chilled chicken was the winning product in the Fresh Meat Category. COOP ZELOVOC strawberries carried off the first place in the category Fruits and Fruit Juices. COOP round rice – Limited Edition and COOP sticks without salt sprinkle and high in fibre from our JUNIOR private label were other winning products.
Superbrands 2023
COOP Jednota defended its position in an independent evaluation of the most successful brands on the Slovak market and again won the super brand award. The title is awarded by an expert jury to a brand that reflects the strength and excellence of the brand, the ability to innovate, progress and inspire others. The goal of the Superbrands programme is also to bring to the attention of consumers and the professional public exceptionally strong brands present on the Slovak market. The Superbrands title is the sign of a special status and recognition of the position of an exceptional brand on the local market. Customers always associate significant values with them and have a personal relationship with them.
2022 Hermes Communicator
The award by the expert jury in the Hermes Communicator of the Year competition is also a proof of the popularity of COOP Jednota private labels. The competition went through several modifications before the launch of its 9th year. The category which works are evaluated by an expert jury has been given a new name – the Hermes Award. Specialists were also invited to join the jury composed of experts from academia and practice. The decision on the companies communicating their messages the best was taken in March. The 2022 Hermes Communicator award in the Design category was won by COOP Jednota Slovensko for their Limited Edition – COOP Jednota.
The Top Company For Young People
COOP Jednota Slovensko, s.d. ranked first among trading companies in the latest 2023 TOP Company for Young People survey regularly organized by the Junior Chamber International Slovakia. This first place was won in the category of retail chains – food products. The survey was held for the 21st time at universities and colleges in the whole of Slovakia. The representative sample consisted of 1,500 university and college students.
Salute To The 2023 Excellence Award
The COOP Jednota system also regularly represents Slovak commerce and trade at the largest global private label competition, the Salute to Excellence Award held in Amsterdam. The competition is organized by the Private Label Manufacturers Association PLMA, which has been bringing together private label sellers and producers from around the world since 1979. We again won the first place in competition with more than 500 products in 90 categories from 64 chains from 20 countries in the latest year of the competition. COOP Junior sticks without salt sprinkle and high in fibre were awarded the first prize. A jury consisting of experts from the field of gastronomy, sellers, manufacturers, suppliers and journalists assessed criteria such as innovativeness, taste and composition, packaging (design, material, imagination), overall appearance, design and real value for the selling price.
COMPANY PHILANTHROPY
COOP Jednota Foundation
The COOP Jednota Foundation was established in 2001 with the intention of providing targeted assistance in public benefit areas. Its activity builds on the essential building blocks of cooperative movement, which primarily include mutual aid and support of local development. The activities of the foundation are based on three fundamental pillars: togetherness and mutual support, culture and traditions, people and health. Its main goal is, therefore, the support of healthcare, assistance to sick and disabled persons, stimulation and support of the development of local and regional initiatives as well as support and development of education, sports and culture. It can achieve its goals thanks to contributions from natural persons and legal entities coming from a percentage of the tax paid and thanks to direct donations from its supporters. In the 22 years of its work, the foundation gave its helping hand to many people and organizations in Slovakia. This aid expressed in financial terms amounts to almost EUR 5.8 million.
Healthcare and social assistance
The COOP Jednota foundation strives to improve the quality of medical treatment processes for the widest possible spectrum of patients through the purchase of medical devices for hospitals and medical facilities in all regions of Slovakia. The foundation contributed more than EUR 67,000 to the improvement of patient care in nine Slovak hospitals in 2023. Financial contributions were given to the Oravská poliklinika Námestovo, Stredoslovenský ústav srdcových a cievnych chorôb, Fakultná nemocnica s poliklinikou in Žilina, hospital with outpatient clinic in Revúca, Galanta and Myjava, Rehabka s.r.o. in Michalovce, Nemocnica AGEL Levice and Centrum sociálnych služieb in Trenčín. The Nadácia COOP Jednota foundation provided financial aid as part of targeted social assistance, to 43 applicants from all over Slovakia in 2023 – mainly to families with seriously sick children and adults with serious diagnoses, in the total amount of EUR 30,000.
Local community support programme
It is only natural that people are also at the forefront of this foundation programme. Its goal is to stimulate and support their participation in local and regional development in the form of small structures, such as community gardens, gazebos, shelters, playgrounds, planting and maintaining greenery and promoting Slovak traditions. The 7th year of this programme received more than 1,000 applications from which regional COOP Jednota-s selected 78 most interesting projects. The winning 26 projects in 26 villages and towns were decided by the residents of the regions themselves by voting. The foundation distributed almost EUR 156,000 among the winning projects and thus, within a year, there will be, for example, personalized memorial benches in Štúrovo, a sauna in Matiašovce, a pier on the Bôr pond at Krpeľany, a traffic playground at Nitrianske Sučany and various other small structures to be used by communities to jointly relax and enjoy sports. Thanks to the Nadácia COOP Jednota foundation and the long-standing partners of this programme: RAJO, a.s., UNILEVER Slovensko, s.r.o., Budiš, a.s., COOP Jednota Slovensko, spotrebné družstvo, and of course, due to the engagement of people, beautiful projects worth more than EUR 1 mil. sprang in municipalities in the whole of Slovakia over the past seven years.
GOALS FOR 2024