Some reflections on UK retail co-operative societies

To somebody outside the movement, UK retail co-operative societies might appear to be something of an anomaly. These businesses, whose combined turn-over exceeds £12 billion, are still owned and controlled by their members, and have a democratic governance structure based on an elected board.

This paper considers whether such an ownership and governance structure has a place in the twenty first century, and whether such societies can realistically expect to survive and compete with investor-owned businesses. It concludes that they can survive and compete if they challenge investor-owned businesses head-on, and structure and manage themselves in a way designed to meet contemporary needs.

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This article was originally produced for and published by the Journal of Co-operative Studies.