A co-operative wholesale society, or CWS, is a form of

co-operative federation A co-operative federation or secondary co-operative is a co-operative in which all members are, in turn, co-operatives. Historically, co-operative federations have predominantly come in the form of co-operative wholesale societies and co-operative ...

(that is, a co-operative in which all the members are co-operatives), in this case, the members are usually

consumer cooperative 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 f ...

s. According to co-operative economist

Charles Gide Charles Gide (; 1847–1932) was a French economist and historian of economic thought. He was a professor at the University of Bordeaux, at Montpellier, at Université de Paris and finally at Collège de France. His nephew was the author André ...

, the aim of a co-operative wholesale society is to arrange “bulk purchases, and, if possible, organise production.” In other words, a co-operative wholesale society is a form of federal co-operative through which consumers co-operatives can collectively purchase goods at wholesale prices, and in some cases collectively own factories or farms. The best historical examples of this are the English CWS and the Scottish CWS, which are the predecessors of the 21st century

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

. Indeed, in Britain, the terms Co-operative Wholesale Society and CWS are used to refer to this specific organisation rather than the organisational form. However, the English CWS has inspired many imitations around the world (including, for example, the

New South Wales Co-operative Wholesale Society New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

who have also described themselves as co-operative wholesale societies.

Bibliographical history

* ''The Story of the C.W.S.'' (The Jubilee History of the Co-operative Wholesale Society 1863-1913 by

Percy Redfern Percy Redfern (1875 – 11 February 1958) was a co-operative movement writer and journalist and an advocate for consumer co-operation. Biography Redfern was born the illegitimate son of a housekeeper in Leicester in 1875. He was raised by h ...

) viii, 439, p.; tables & illustrations, includes lists of officials, and photographs of buildings and some officials. Includes graphs on thin paper relating to economic history from 1860 to 1912, by G. H. Wood. * ''The New History of the C.W.S.'' by

. xiv, 624 p.; illustrated. London: J. M. Dent, 1938. "First published in October, 1938, on the completion of seventy-five years of the Co-operative Wholesale Society limited." "Note on documentary sources": pp. 527–530: "Biographical supplement": pp. 65589.

Co-operative federalism

Co-operative wholesale societies have been advocated by

co-operative federalism Cooperative federalism is a school of thought in the field of cooperative economics. Historically, its proponents have included J.T.W. Mitchell, Charles Gide, Paul Lambert, and Beatrice Webb (who coined the term in her book ''The Co-operative ...

, which is the school of thought in

co-operative economics Cooperative (or co-operative) economics is a field of economics that incorporates cooperative studies and political economy toward the study and management of cooperatives. History Cooperative economics developed as both a theory and a concr ...

favouring consumer co-operative societies. The co-operative federalists have argued that consumers' co-operatives should form co-operative wholesale societies and that, through such arrangements, they should undertake purchasing farms or factories. They argued that profits (or surpluses) from these CWSes should be paid as

dividends 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-inv ...

to the member co-operatives, rather than to their workers.This analysis is based on a discussion by Gide, Charles, pp. 192-203.

References

External links

The National Co-operative Archive holds records relating to the Co-operative Wholesale Society.
* {{Co-operatives Cooperatives Business models Wholesalers of the United Kingdom

Bibliographical history

Co-operative federalism

See also

References

External links