A CO-OPERATIVE Society celebrating a massive turnaround in fortunes has unveiled a £400,000 new look at one of its three stores.

And the revamped Wooldale Co-op, on Wooldale Road, has extended its opening hours to between 7.30am and 9pm.

"Five years ago, the Wooldale Co-operative Society was struggling as a result of a lack of vision and investment, but last year sales rose to £2m and are still climbing," said chief executive and secretary Fergie Cowan.

Wooldale Co-operative Society also has stores in Thongsbridge and New Mill, which are also extending their opening hours to 9pm daily.

Mr Cowan said the Wooldale store, which is the society's head office, had undergone a transformation from a dated 1950s-style store to a modern retail store.

It now includes a refurbished sales area, a new office suite and an extensive cellar area to accommodate its internet shops www.expat. coop and www.wooldale wines.coop as well as storage.

It also includes a post office counter so people can shop and collect benefits at the same counter.

Work on the refurbishment started in April with the store officially reopening this month.

Three luxury first-floor apartments at £180,000 each are also to be created on the site and are due to be completed by October.

Funding for the project has been made possible through a link-up with the Sheffield Co-operative Society, which has loaned cash until the apartments are completed and sold.

Sheffield will eventually receive a small percentage share of the profits from the sale of the apartments.