The Co-operative Group
THE Co-operative Group is one of the largest retail co-operatives in Europe, with a turnover in excess of £1.5bn and over 15,000 staff employed from the Midlands to Cumbria and from Northern Ireland to the East Coast of Yorkshire.
The Society's wide range of services from food shops to travel and from funerals to pharmacies and also embracing department stores and motor dealerships, totalling more than 900 outlets, along with a telesales and Internet trading presence, give it a strong claim to be 'The Community Retailer.'
Today much of the co-operative trade in the U.K is carried out by large, successful, retail co-operative societies. Although each is independent of the others, they share the same values and principles and operate on the same democratic basis.
Because of its size, United Co-op has four elected regional councils who in turn appoint the 16 members of the board of directors. Alongside these regional councils is a divisional council and seven member relations committees which operate to develop the educational, social and cultural activities on offer to members. The regional council and member relations committee structure ensures an effective and healthy democracy and maintains the society's close links with the communities it serves.
The member relations committees, in particular, help to support a wide range of groups and organisations that operate on the basis of the co-operative principles and share in the Co-op's ethics and values. They also help to organise a variety of social and educational activities, from family concerts to conferences on key social issues such as community regeneration and co-operative enterprise.
As well as being a successful multi-million pound business, United Co-op has another important advantage over its competitors - the Society gives you, as a customer, the chance to become a member, a part owner, of the business, enabling you to take an active part in its control. As a shareholding member of United Co-op, you have the right to meet with other members and to change the Society's future. What's more, our democracy is based on one member, one vote, so regardless of how much members invest, everyone has an equal say when it comes to issues affecting the Society and electing representatives to our regional councils.
As a member you also have the opportunity to: - help your community - become involved in local projects - assist with charity fund - raising and regeneration initiatives - enjoy other activities with your family and friends - join the Active Member's Benefit Reward Scheme and gain a financial reward for your loyalty Becoming a member of United Co-op is simple and costs as little as £1.
If you would like to become a member of the Co-operative Group, like all the members of the Yorkshire Co-op Brass Band you can log onto www.coop.co.uk or write to The Share Office, United Co-op, Wood House, Etruria Road, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5NW. Alternatively you can contact the band and obtain a membership application from us or pick one up at any of our concerts.
History of the Co-op
ALL around the world you can find co-operatives, but the history of the beginnings of the co-operative movement are rooted in Britain. While co-operatives have a long history, it was the Industrial Revolution which is generally considered the era that heralded in the modern form of co-operatives.
The first recorded consumer co-operative in this period was the Penny Capitalists, established in 1769 by a group of weavers in Scotland who came together to share weaving supplies. In Germany, in the 1830’s there was the option of deposits being placed with a co-operative organisation as developed by Raiffeisen. This concept caught on and eventually a bank was established.
Meanwhile, during the 1840’s in the Rochdale in the UK, Pioneers were establishing a trading business in basic commodities of flour, sugar, wheat etc. on the basis of giving fair and accurate measure for the purchase. Such fairness in trading had been lacking with unscrupulous traders giving short measure and poor quality of goods, like having chalk in the flour.
From the development of the Rochdale business came a set of business principles which were adopted and extended into various forms of business. Today, in Toad Lane, Rochdale (near Manchester), Lancashire, The Rochdale Pioneers Memorial Museum is open to the public. It celebrates the establishment of the co-operative trading businesses in the very building used by the famous Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society when it commenced business on 21 December 1844. Rochdale may not have been the first such co-operative but from its decisions, methods and practices, the Rochdale Principles of Co-operation were evolved which provided the pattern for consumer co-operation.
In 1895 a world apex body was established to develop and protect the interests of co-operatives internationally. This was the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) which is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The operation of co-operatives was quick to catch on in many countries and a considerable period of growth ensued. The concept was widely adopted and emerged in many countries of the world.
The first general co-operative was formed in New South Wales, Australia in 1859 and since then co-operatives have developed strongly throughout Australia. One of the most successful co-operative endeavours which is perhaps the most famous, is the Mondragon Group in Basque, Spain. This began in 1956 in the town of Mondragon and enormous businesses have been developed through the widespread adoption of the co-operative business model. This is a 'worker co-operative' which is owned collectively by those who work for the co-operative.
To this day it is a model example of how co-operative business can operate for the success of the people who own it. There are strong co-operatives in most countries in Europe. With the changes to life in China, the most populous country on earth, there are moves to prepare for state-owned businesses to move to ownership by the people who participate and thereby become fully-fledged co-operatives. The earliest record of co-operatives in New Zealand reports the formation of farmer trading co-operatives in Timaru and Christchurch in 1881.
Today, co-operatives may not be so obvious or well known in NZ but there are some very strong co-operative businesses, particularly in the agricultural sector.
World history courtesy of New Zealand Co-op