On 26th January 2006, the largest UK independent co-operative retailer - Our Coop - was launched. The Society emerged from the coming together of three long established independent societies - Central Co-op, Midcounties, and Chelmsford Star.
This move brings together a combination of 500 food stores, alongside travel; funeralcare; Early Years; and mobile, energy and broadband businesses; and more than one million Members and 13,000 colleagues across the UK.
Debbie Robinson, Chief Executive Officer of OurCoop, said:
Our new Society brings together co-operative businesses that support people through everyday life and life’s bigger moments – from feeding families and caring for children, to keeping the lights on, helping people travel and supporting them through difficult times.
By coming together, we can offer our Members an even greater breadth of products and
services that meet their needs. We have the scale and connection to generate more value
through our businesses, reinvest it for the long term and return more of that value to
Members in ways that matter. That’s the power of co-operation – a system where
participation creates benefit and the more Members participate and trade with us, the greater the impact we can have together.
Our Coop's coverage includes Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Bedfordshire in the South and West; the Midlands including Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Northamptonshire; the North including Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire; and the East of England, including Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Membership of OurCoop is available through existing Central Co-op and Midcounties
membership channels while systems are integrated. Members can apply via the Central Coop app or online, with Midcounties membership applications continuing through existing digital sign-up routes.
Copy of full press release →
