The Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society is an independent

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 ...

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 ...

. Registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, the Society is a member of

Co-operatives UK 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-opera ...

, the

Co-operative Group Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-op ...

and the national co-operative wholesaler Federal Retail and Trading Services. In 1995, it had a membership of 38,867 and annual sales of £34.2 million. In 2018-19 (the 52 weeks ending January 26 2019), its membership had reached 87,368 and its revenue (gross takings) was £113.5 million (up 2.8% year on year) - of which sales accounted for £92.4mn. Net profit, or surplus before distributions, in 2018-19 was £787,337 (down by 14% year on year) as UK high-street retailers faced a tough time. The Society had an average of 884 employees (263 full-time and 621 part-time) in 2018-19, slightly fewer than in 2017-18. Net debt stood at £4.4m (£5.7m 2017/18) and the Society's pension deficit was £1.9m (£2.4m 2017/18).

History

The Society was established in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

by iron foundry workers in 1867, with the intention of becoming "the Star of the County". In 1969, it merged with the Braintree Co-operative Society, which had been formed by silk weavers in 1864. In its first year of trading, Chelmsford Star Industrial Co-operative Society had a membership of 275 and annual sales of £4,316. By 1900, with 1,439 registered co-operatives in the UK, membership had risen to 2,001, with annual sales of £40,414. In 1954, with membership standing at 19,089, the Society achieved sales of over £1 million for the first time.

Activities

According to the

International Co-operative Alliance The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895 to unite, represent an ...

, "A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled enterprise." In conducting its affairs, Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society is committed to "following the Co-operative Values and Principles." The Society's rules are based on Model Rules 12, drawn up by Co-operatives UK. As of May 2019, the Society operates 40 convenience stores under

The Co-operative Food Co-op Food is a brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group in the United Kingdom. Prior to reintroducing the brand in 2016, the group used " The Co-operative" branding, which is still used by a number of consumers' co- ...

fascia, 2 Quadrant

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

s (each of which with

The Co-operative Travel The Co-operative Travel is a travel agency brand used by some independent retail co-operatives in the United Kingdom, such as Midcounties Co-operative, through their access to The Co-operative brand. Between 2011 and 2016 the brand was also used ...

branches) in Chelmsford and Braintree, and eight Chelmsford Star Co-operative Funeral Services. The 40 convenience stores - which exclude two loss-making ones that were closed during 2018-19 at Meppel Avenue,

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office ...

and at Southchurch Road,

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

- cover not only the core Chelmsford/Braintree area but also extend as far out as

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford in north-east London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the west. Epping Fo ...

, Ilford and

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

to the southwest and from Grays through

East Tilbury East Tilbury is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock borough, Essex, England, and one of the traditional Church of England parishes in Thurrock. In 1931 the parish had a population of 353. History In Saxon ti ...

Shoeburyness Shoeburyness (; also called Shoebury) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. east of the city centre. It was an urban district of Essex from 1894 to 1933, when it ...

along the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

to the south and southeast. Food retailing provides the lion's share of the Society's operating profits, while its two Quadrant department stores made a 2018-19 operating loss. Membership of the society is open to all residents of the Society's mid-

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

trading area, 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 ...

. The Co-op convenience store on New Street in central Chelmsford belongs to the national

, and not to the Chelmsford Star Society.

References

External links

Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society

Chelmsford Star Co-operative Funerals

Chelmsford Star Co-operative Travel Agency
{{Authority control Consumers' co-operatives of the United Kingdom Funeral-related companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1867 Department stores of the United Kingdom Companies based in Chelmsford

History

Activities

See also

References

Further reading

External links