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Coop () is one of Switzerland's largest
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
and
wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...
companies. It is structured in the form of a
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) 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-control ...
society with around 2.5 million members. As of 2019, Coop operates 2,478 shops and employs more than 90,000 people in Switzerland. According to
Bio Suisse Bio Suisse is the main organisation of organic agriculture in Switzerland. This umbrella organization counts 33 organic farmers' associations among its members, as well as the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL. It notably manages the ...
, the Swiss organic producers' association, Coop accounts for half of all the
organic food Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...
sold in Switzerland. In June 2011, independent German rating agency Oekom Research awarded Coop with the title of "World's Most Sustainable Retailer". Coop has three primary brands with a sustainability selling proposition: Coop Oecoplan (various daily life products), Coop Naturaline (textile products) and Coop Naturaplan (food). The company also sells products bearing the
Max Havelaar ''Max Havelaar; or, The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company'' ( nl, Max Havelaar; of, De koffi-veilingen der Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappy) is an 1860 novel by Multatuli (the pen name of Eduard Douwes Dekker), which played a key role ...
Fairtrade label. Coop also has a low-cost product line, "Prix Garantie". Coop owns the Swiss chocolate company Halba. Coop publishes a weekly magazine called ''Coopzeitung'' (in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
), ''Coopération'' (in French) and ''Cooperazione'' (in
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
). The chain has an online presence at coop.ch. The web site offers much of the same selection found in the Coop stores and delivers groceries, wine, flowers, books, and other products to customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It currently markets its services in German, French, Italian, and English.


Summary

The Coop Group is headquartered in Switzerland and operates in the retail, wholesale, and production sectors. Coop Group operates store formats in the food, non-food and service sectors. With Transgourmet Holding AG, Coop is Europe's second largest cash & carry and wholesale supplies business. In total, the Coop Group has around 2,000 retail outlets in Switzerland and 124 cash & carry markets in Switzerland and other European countries. The Coop Group has a workforce of around 80,000, with approximately 54,000 employees in Switzerland.


History

In 1864, textile industrialist Jean Jenny-Ryffel formed Switzerland's first consumer cooperative in Schwanden in the canton of
Glarus , neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ) , twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany) } Glarus (; gsw, Glaris; french: Glaris; it, Glarona; rm, Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in S ...
. Over the next years, many other
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) 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-control ...
societies emerged in the country. In 1890, many of them joined together to form the ''Verband Schweizerischer Konsumvereine (VSK)'' (French: ''Union suisse des sociétés de consommation (USC)''). In 1969, it was renamed to its current name, ''Coop Genossenschaft'' (French: ''Coop société coopérative''; Italian: ''Coop società cooperativa''). In 1927, the Verband Schweizerischer Konsumvereine and the
Swiss Federation of Trade Unions The Swiss Trade Union Federation (, SGB; ; , USS) is the largest national trade union center in Switzerland. History The federation was founded in 1880 and represents 361,000 members in its affiliated unions (2015). The SGB has close ties with ...
founded the ''Genossenschaftliche Zentralbank'' (French: ''Banque Centrale Coopérative''; Italian: ''Banca Centrale Cooperativa''). It became a shares company in 1970, and in 1995 was renamed Bank Coop (''Banque Coop''; ''Banca Coop''). In 1999, the
Basler Kantonalbank Basler Kantonalbank (Basel Cantonal Bank) is a Swiss cantonal bank that is one of the 24 cantonal banks serving Switzerland's 26 cantons. Founded in 1899, in 2019 Basler Kantonalbank had 15 branches with 842 employees; the total assets of the ban ...
became the majority shareholder. On May 19, 2017, the institution undertook a comprehensive rebranding and became the Bank Cler (''Banque Cler''; ''Banca Cler'').


Passabene (self-checkout)

Coop was one of the first
self-checkout Self-checkouts (SCOs), also known as assisted checkouts (ACOs) or self-service checkouts, are machines that provide a mechanism for customers to complete their own transaction from a retailer without needing a traditional staffed checkout. When ...
providers in Switzerland, introducing its own system called Passabene in 2005. It is in use in 80 stores. Coop uses the MC17T Retail Mobile Computer by
Motorola Solutions Motorola Solutions, Inc., is an American video equipment, telecommunications equipment, software, systems and services provider that succeeded Motorola, Inc., following the spinoff of the mobile phone division into Motorola Mobility in 2011. The ...
for this application. They later introduced mobile apps that customers can use to scan items. As of Nov 2015, Coop point-of-sale devices accept Apple Pay, however, Coop Pronto gas station pumps do not (due to lack of NFC-capability).


Cargo Sous Terrain

Cargo Sous Terrain Cargo Sous Terrain (abbreviated to CST; French language, literally: "Underground Cargo") is a planned underground logistics system in Switzerland. It was set up as an association (''Förderverein Cargo sous terrain'') in September 2013, and was ba ...
(CST) is a planned underground logistics system – its first phase in the
Mittelland Mittelland (German, ‘middle land’) may refer to: * Mittelland, Switzerland, a district of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland * Swiss Plateau (German: ''Schweizer Mittelland''), a major landscape in Switzerland * Mittelland, part ...
region is scheduled by the early 2030s. As of January 2016, the company's respective association (''Förderverein Cargo sous terrain'') is based at the seat of Coop (''Genossenschaft Basel'') in Basel.


Swissmill

''Swissmill'' operates the largest granary in Switzerland that produces 800 tons of grain daily, representing 30% of the national grain requirements. Its meal is prepared for all bread products produced by the Swiss retailers Coop, Volg, and Landi. Although the Swissmill Tower's exterior and height in Zürich is disputed, the municipal authorities claim that ''the silo is intentionally designed in its aesthetically conscious way. Its external appearance is intended to express its interior – an industrial plant''.


See also

*
List of supermarket chains in Switzerland This is a list of supermarket chains in Switzerland. See also * List of supermarket chains Bibliography * Marc Benoun, ''Le commerce de détail suisse '', collection « Le savoir suisse », Presses polytechniques et universitaires roma ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Consumers' cooperatives in Switzerland Supermarkets of Switzerland Companies based in Basel Retail companies established in 1890 Retail companies established in 1969 Swiss companies established in 1890 Swiss companies established in 1969