Midcounties Co-operative Society
Encyclopedia
The Midcounties Co-operative Limited is the fourth-largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom
. It is a registered Industrial and Provident Society
, a member of Co-operatives UK, the Co-operative Retail Trading Group
and a corporate member of Co-operative Group Ltd. (formerly Co-operative Wholesale Society), the largest consumer co-operative in the world. The head office is located at Warwick Technology Park, Warwickshire
.
The Society's principal activity is retailing
in the mid counties of England. A subsidiary, The Midcounties Co-operative Domains Ltd, operates the internet domain name registry
for the .coop
top level domain. In 2002, the Society became the first in the UK co-operative to open a children's day care
facility. It has also invested in Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative in Watchfield
, Oxfordshire
, identified by its promoters as the UK's largest community-owned wind farm
at its opening in 2008.
The founding (non-executive) president
is Vivian Woodell, (chief executive of The Phone Co-op), who was president of the OSG Society at the time of merger.
, the area around Swindon in Wiltshire
, Shropshire
, Staffordshire
, Warwickshire
, Worcestershire
and the West Midlands county
.
Some of the earliest predecessor societies that combined with others to eventually form The Midcounties Co-operative are:
across its businesses. These are:
brand. The Society also owns the Stars News and Rusts brands.
. Each year more than two million prescription items are dispensed. In common with many other pharmacies, the group offers a wide range of extended services to customers, such as support to quit smoking, medicines use reviews, a weight management service and asthma reviews. These now trade as The Co-operative Pharmacy
.
in the Society's trading area.
Co-operative Employee Benefits are launching Childcare Discounts, Family Care Advice Services, Legal Services, Simplyhealth, Energy and Payroll Giving in 2011.
, Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester areas. Whilst most of these all trade as The Co-operative Travel
, the society has opened three multi-channel concept stores in Thame, Evesham and Worcester. The remainder of the stores carry The Co-operative Travel branding these three stores all carry the society's online brand 'cooptravel.co.uk'.
, Volkswagen
, Mitsubishi
, Mazda
and Hyundai
. The Midcounties Co-operative intended it to be the most socially responsible car dealership in the UK, but sold it off in January 2010 at a loss of £2.4 million.
. When members join they are required to invest a minimum of £1 which entitles them to a share in the business. The scheme is run in conjunction with The Co-operative Group membership, allowing a Midcounties card to be used at businesses operated by other participating societies.
The membership card allows members to collect points either by spending in stores or attending events. Points are converted to vouchers twice yearly, usually in May and November. The vouchers can be spent in any of The Midcounties Co-operative's trading outlets, paid into the member's share account or donated to charity.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is a registered Industrial and Provident Society
Industrial and Provident Society
An industrial and provident society is a legal entity for a trading business or voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and New Zealand...
, a member of Co-operatives UK, the Co-operative Retail Trading Group
Co-operative Retail Trading Group
The Co-operative Retail Trading Group is the central buying group for co-operative retail societies in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1993, and says that it supplies 100% of food bought for sale by co-operatives in the UK, after being joined by the last two independent societies in 2002...
and a corporate member of Co-operative Group Ltd. (formerly Co-operative Wholesale Society), the largest consumer co-operative in the world. The head office is located at Warwick Technology Park, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
.
The Society's principal activity is retailing
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
in the mid counties of England. A subsidiary, The Midcounties Co-operative Domains Ltd, operates the internet domain name registry
Domain name registry
A domain name registry is a database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain. A registry operator, also called a network information center , is the part of the Domain Name System of the Internet that keeps the database of domain names, and generates the zone files which convert...
for the .coop
.coop
The domain coop is a sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. It is intended for the use of cooperatives, wholly owned subsidiaries, and other organizations that exist to promote or support co-operatives....
top level domain. In 2002, the Society became the first in the UK co-operative to open a children's day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
facility. It has also invested in Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative in Watchfield
Watchfield
Watchfield is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, about southeast of Highworth in neighbouring Wiltshire. Watchfield is about north of the village of Shrivenham. Both villages used to be on the main road between Oxford and Swindon, which is now the A420 road...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, identified by its promoters as the UK's largest community-owned wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
at its opening in 2008.
The founding (non-executive) president
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
is Vivian Woodell, (chief executive of The Phone Co-op), who was president of the OSG Society at the time of merger.
History
The Midcounties Co-operative was formed on 24 September 2005 by the merger of the Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-operative Society (OSG) and the West Midlands Co-operative Society (WMCS). Consequently, the Society's geographical trading area spans eight counties, including most of Oxfordshire and GloucestershireGloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, the area around Swindon in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
and the West Midlands county
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
.
Some of the earliest predecessor societies that combined with others to eventually form The Midcounties Co-operative are:
| Community | Formed |
|---|---|
| Swindon Swindon Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east... |
1853 |
| Gloucester Gloucester Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham.... |
1860 |
| Chipping Norton | 1866 |
| Walsall Walsall Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative... |
1866 |
| Oxford | 1872 |
| Cinderford Cinderford Cinderford is a small town on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. A population of 8,116 people is recorded in the 2001 census.... |
1874 |
Businesses
The Midcounties Co-operative is one of several independent co-operatives that mainly uses The Co-operative brandThe Co-operative brand
The Co-operative is a common branding used by a variety of co-operatives based in the United Kingdom.Many in the UK mistakenly consider the Co-op to be a single national business, however each Co-operative is actually a franchise selling branded goods produced by the Co-operative Group The...
across its businesses. These are:
Food retailing
The Midcounties Co-operative is one of the largest independent food retailers in the country with around 150 stores. It operates supermarkets, village stores and Swift Shops which are all to be converted to The Co-operative FoodThe Co-operative Food
The Co-operative Food, abbreviated sometimes to the Co-op, is a brand devised for the supermarket and convenience store business of the UK's consumers' co-operative movement. It is the name of the largest division of The Co-operative Group, and is used by other independent consumer co-operatives...
brand. The Society also owns the Stars News and Rusts brands.
Dispensing chemists
The Midcounties Co-operative owns 44 pharmacies and one specialist beauty and gift shop. It runs 11 branches in its southern trading area (covering Oxfordshire, Swindon and Gloucestershire)—one in Swindon, five in Oxfordshire and five in Gloucestershire, with the remainder located in the West Midlands regionWest Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
. Each year more than two million prescription items are dispensed. In common with many other pharmacies, the group offers a wide range of extended services to customers, such as support to quit smoking, medicines use reviews, a weight management service and asthma reviews. These now trade as The Co-operative Pharmacy
The Co-operative Pharmacy
The Co-operative Pharmacy is the trading name of National Co-operative Chemists Ltd., a subsidiary of the Co-operative Group. Established in 1945, it is the third largest chemist in the United Kingdom and the largest in Wales...
.
Funeral directors
The Midcounties Co-operative owns 70 funeral homes and three monumental masons. These now do business as The Co-operative FuneralcareThe Co-operative Funeralcare
Co-operative Funeralcare Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Co-operative Group Ltd., trading as The Co-operative Funeralcare. The Co-operative Funeralcare is the largest funeral director in the United Kingdom with over 850 funeral homes, crematoria and woodland burial grounds; it is a member...
in the Society's trading area.
Co-operative Employee Benefits
Co-operative Employee Benefits turned over £32m in 2010/11, providing Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work schemes. They currently service 800 clients, with 14,000 employees in receipt of their benefits.Co-operative Employee Benefits are launching Childcare Discounts, Family Care Advice Services, Legal Services, Simplyhealth, Energy and Payroll Giving in 2011.
Travel agents
The Midcounties Co-operative operates 41 travel agents throughout the West Midlands, WorcesterWorcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester areas. Whilst most of these all trade as The Co-operative Travel
The Co-operative Travel
The Co-operative Travel is the trading name of Co-op Group Travel 1 Ltd., a subsidiary of the Co-operative Group. The largest independent travel agent in the United Kingdom; it is a member of the Co-operative Travel Trading Group and is both ABTA and ATOL bonded...
, the society has opened three multi-channel concept stores in Thame, Evesham and Worcester. The remainder of the stores carry The Co-operative Travel branding these three stores all carry the society's online brand 'cooptravel.co.uk'.
Cooptravel.co.uk
Midcounties Co-operative Society operate an online travel business 'cooptravel.co.uk'. Since The Co-operative Group's re-branding programme in 2008 the group's online business had been trading as The Co-operative Travel. Midcounties saw value in the Co-op Travel brand and moved their main travel website onto the current domain, finally securing the relevant 'Co-op Travel' trademarks in June 2009.Childcare
The Midcounties Co-operative also operate Imagine Co-operative Childcare in Oxfordshire, Swindon and Gloucestershire.Property
The property group provides a comprehensive management service for the Society's operational and investment portfolio, which encompasses 450 separate units of accommodation including over 100 residential dwellings.Car dealerships
Motorworld (also known as The Co-operative Motors) was a co-operative car dealership. Its franchises include VolvoVolvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
, Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
, Mazda
Mazda
is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...
and Hyundai
Hyundai
Hyundai ) is a global conglomerate company, part of the Korean chaebol, that was founded in South Korea by one of the most famous businessmen in Korean history: Chung Ju-yung...
. The Midcounties Co-operative intended it to be the most socially responsible car dealership in the UK, but sold it off in January 2010 at a loss of £2.4 million.
Membership
Membership is open to all residents of the Society's trading area, with members receiving a share of the profits in the form of dividendDividend
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be distributed to...
. When members join they are required to invest a minimum of £1 which entitles them to a share in the business. The scheme is run in conjunction with The Co-operative Group membership, allowing a Midcounties card to be used at businesses operated by other participating societies.
The membership card allows members to collect points either by spending in stores or attending events. Points are converted to vouchers twice yearly, usually in May and November. The vouchers can be spent in any of The Midcounties Co-operative's trading outlets, paid into the member's share account or donated to charity.