The Channel Islands' Co-operative Society is a long-established

consumer co-operative A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a fo ...

with stores in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. Its head office is located in Saint Helier in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

. In the year ending 13 January 2019, Channel Islands Co-op recorded sales of £183.6m (£174.5m 2017/18) and a profit after tax of £940k (£745k 2017/18). The Society was able to pay its members a 4% dividend (4% 2017/18) as a share of profits, with the total reported member benefits amounting to £7.97m, inclusive of Dividend, Dividend stamps, travel vouchers and share interest. The Society had a £5.8m (£6.8m 2017/18) pension deficit. Society membership was 128,350 in 2019, slightly up on the 126,751 figure in 2018.

History

The Jersey Co-operative Society was formed in 1919 and the

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

Co-operative Society followed in 1947. Both predecessors were supported by a CWS supervisory committee, which meant their accounts were liable to UK taxation. Growing objection to this persuaded the CWS to propose a merger which led to the incorporation of the

' Society in 1955. In August 2013, it was announced that the company's two Channel Island ''Homemaker'' warehouses would be closed, and replaced with a single warehouse in the UK.

Activities

The society operates twelve

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

s in Jersey and ten in Guernsey, the largest of which are called Grand Marche, the stores with a petrol forecourt trade as En Route and the convenience stores trading as Locale, all of which charge the same retail prices. In addition the society operates ''Travelmaker'', funeral care, member services through its post office network, 'Pharmacy Locale and ''Medical Care'' businesses. Membership is open to all residents of the Channel Islands when they open a share account for £1, with members receiving a share of the profits in the form of

dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-in ...

s. The Channel Islands' Co-operative Society is a UK-registered

industrial and provident society An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules. The members of a society benefit from the protection of limited liability ...

,Registered in England and Wales under the Companies Act 1985, No. 14672R a member of the

Co-operative Union Co-operatives UK is a British co-operative federation described as "the central membership organisation for co-operative enterprise throughout the UK". It was founded in 1870 as the Co-operative Central Board, changing its name to the Co-oper ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the Co-operative Retail Trading Group, the

Co-operative Travel Trading Group The Co-operative Travel Trading Group (or CTTG) was the central buying group for co-operative travel agents in the United Kingdom. It was established along the same lines as the Co-operative Retail Trading Group when the Co-operative Group merged i ...

and a corporate member of The Co-operative Group (formerly Co-operative Wholesale Society), the largest consumer co-operative in the world.

References

External links

The Channel Islands Co-operative Society
{{Authority control Retail companies established in 1919 Business services companies established in 1919 Companies of the Channel Islands 1919 establishments in Jersey Food retailers of Jersey Furniture retailers of Jersey Co-operatives in the United Kingdom Consumers' cooperatives

History

Activities

See also

References

External links