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64-579: Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Limited was the fifth largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the merger of the Greater Peterborough Regional and Anglia (formerly Waveney ) co-operative societies in 1987. The Society had over 80 stores, principally trading in East Anglia . Head office was located at Westgate House, Peterborough until 2011. The Society

128-429: A board of directors , making important decisions regarding the organization, and informing the members of previous and future activities. At this meeting, the shareholders and partners may receive copies of the company's accounts, review fiscal information for the past year, and ask any questions regarding the directions the business will take in the future. At the annual general meeting, the president or chairman of

192-708: A director of the Society, was elected Labour Co-operative Member of Parliament for the Peterborough division of Northamptonshire at the 1945 general election . Waveney Co-operative Society was formed in 1982 by the merger of Lowestoft Co-operative Society, founded in 1890 and Beccles Working Men's Co-operative Association, founded in 1879. In 1983, the Waveney Society absorbed Diss Co-operative Society, which had been established in 1898; it became Anglia Co-operative Society in 1986, shortly before transferring engagements to

256-634: A food cooperative directory. Seattle-based R.E.I. , which specializes in outdoor sporting equipment, is the largest consumer cooperative in the United States. Outdoor retailer Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) in Canada was one of that country's major consumer cooperatives. In the Canadian Prairie provinces as well as British Columbia , gas stations, lumberyards, and grocery stores can be found under

320-432: A for-profit enterprise will treat the difference between cost (including labor etc.) and selling price as financial gain for investors, the consumer owned enterprise may retain this to accumulate capital in common ownership, distribute it to meet the consumer's social objectives, or refund this sum to the consumer/owner as an over-payment. (Accumulated capital may be held as reserves, or invested in growth as working capital or

384-538: A long running lease, although it was reported that management were "reviewing the format and pursuing any opportunities that give the stores and the staff the best prospects for the future". A buyer was eventually found for the Blyth store, but not as a going concern and it ceased trading in 2013. Central England Co-operative finally disposed of the Scunthorpe store to Oldrids & Co. in 2016. Later in 2011, AHF Home Furnishings

448-593: A means to achieve social reform. They believed such a development would bring benefits such as economic democracy and justice , transparency , greater product purity, and financial benefits for consumers. One of the world's largest consumer co-operative federations operates in the UK as The Co-op , which operates over 5,500 branches of 'Co-op' branded business including Co-op Food (the UK's sixth largest supermarket chain), Co-op Funeralcare , Co-op Travel , Co-op Legal Services , and Co-op Electrical . The Co-operative Group

512-778: A mixture of co-operative philosophy and practical advice about running a shop using cooperative principles. The first successful co-operative was the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers , established in England in 1844. This became the basis for the development and growth of the modern cooperative movement. As the mechanization of the Industrial Revolution forced more skilled workers into poverty, these tradesmen decided to band together to open their own store selling food items they could not otherwise afford. With lessons from prior failed attempts at co-operation in mind, they designed

576-479: A vision that went far beyond the simple shop with which they began: That as soon as practicable, this society shall proceed to arrange the powers of production, distribution, education, and government, or in other words to establish a selfsupporting home-colony of united interests, or assist other societies in establishing such colonies. Cooperative Federalists , a term coined in the writings of Beatrice Webb , advocated forming federations of consumer cooperatives as

640-457: Is a meeting of the general membership of an organization. These organizations include membership associations and companies with shareholders . These meetings may be required by law or by the constitution , charter , or by-laws governing the body. The meetings are held to conduct business on behalf of the organization or company. An organization may conduct its business at the annual general meeting. The business may include electing

704-489: Is a share of the profits made by the Society. The rate of dividend was recommended to members by the board of directors and put to a vote. Members had an opportunity at the point of sale to donate their dividend to the Anglia Co-operative Community Fund (Share 600), the proceeds of which were presented each year to three or four charities nominated by the board. It was paid annually and a warrant placed in

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768-611: Is by far the largest of these businesses, itself having over 4,500 outlets and operating the collective buying group . In Switzerland , the two largest supermarket chains Coop and Migros are both co-operatives and are among the country’s largest employers. In Ireland , the Dublin Food Coop has been in operation since 1983. In Scandinavia , the national cooperatives Norway , Sweden , and Denmark joined as Coop Norden in January 2002, but separated again in 2008. In Italy ,

832-408: Is one of the largest cooperatives in the world. In addition to retail co-ops there are medical, housing, and insurance co-ops alongside institutional (workplace based) co-ops, co-ops for school teachers, and university-based co-ops. Approximately one in five of all Japanese households belongs to a local retail co-op and 90% of all co-op members are women. Nearly six million households belong to one of

896-764: Is open to everybody. It has franchises under the brand Aliprox not owned by Eroski but sharing its product range. Its origin is in the Basque Country . In its process of expansion, it merged with the Valencia-based cooperative Consum , but the merger dissolved in 2005. It has expanded across Spain and entered France and Gibraltar. After the Spanish crisis of 2008 , Eroski sold several of its supermarkets and hypermarkets. The Co-op Bookshop sold textbooks both online and on university campuses. It also owned Australian Geographic . In 2020 its retail stores closed and its online store

960-560: Is wholly owned by its customers, reported at 125,000 in 2012. Japan has a large and well-developed consumer cooperative movement with more than 14 million members. Retail co-ops alone had a combined turnover of 2.5 trillion Yen (21 billion U.S. Dollars) in April, 2003. Co-op Kobe (コープこうべ) in the Hyōgo Prefecture is the largest retail cooperative in Japan and, with more than 1.2 million members,

1024-514: The Co-Op brand . All credit unions in the United States and Canada are financial cooperatives. Tim Worstall has called the Vanguard Group a customer owned cooperative, since the owners of Vanguard funds are the funds' investors. In Puerto Rico , several Supermercados Fam Coop operate. Annual general meeting An annual general meeting ( AGM , also known as the annual meeting )

1088-545: The Coop Italia chain formed by many sub-cooperatives controlled 17.7% of the grocery market in 2005. In Finland , the S Group is owned by 22 regional cooperatives and 19 local cooperative stores, which in turn are owned by their customers. In 2005 the S Group overtook its nearest rival Kesko Oyj with a 36% share of retail grocery sales compared to Kesko's 28%. In France , Coop Atlantique owns 7 hypermarkets, 39 supermarkets, and about 200 convenience stores. In Germany ,

1152-737: The North West of England, announced that it no longer intended to include department stores in its primary strategy, leading to the sale of seven stores, mostly inherited from the Yorkshire Co-operative Society, to the Anglia Society. In 2005, the Co-operative Group also announced its decision to exit the department store sector and, in 2006, a further seven stores, this time located in the South East of England, were transferred to

1216-690: The ReWe Group is a diversified holding company of consumer cooperatives that includes thousands of retail stores, discount stores, and tourism agencies. It ranks as the second largest supermarket chain in Germany and in the top ten cooperative groups in the world. In Spain, Eroski is a supermarket chain within Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa . As a worker-consumer hybrid , some of the personnel are hired workers and some are owner-workers. The owners include workers and mere consumers, but buying

1280-411: The bylaws or organizing document of the cooperative. Most consumer cooperatives hold regular membership meetings (often once a year). As mutually owned businesses, each member of a society has a shareholding equal to the sum they paid in when they joined. Large consumers' co-ops are run much like any other business and require workers, managers, clerks, products, and customers to keep the doors open and

1344-401: The labour movement . As employment moved to industrial areas and job sectors declined, workers began organizing and controlling businesses for themselves. Workers cooperatives were originally sparked by "critical reaction to industrial capitalism and the excesses of the industrial revolution." The formation of some workers cooperatives was meant to "cope with the evils of unbridled capitalism and

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1408-591: The "Network Movement" ("Tokyo Seikatsusha (it means "Living Persons") Network", "Kanagawa Network Movement", and so on). They depend on consumers movement, feminism, regionalism, and prefer to anti-nuclear. These parties keep small but steady sections in prefecture and municipal assemblies. In the United States, the PCC (Puget Consumers Cooperative) Natural Markets in Seattle is the largest consumer-owned food cooperative . The National Cooperative Grocers Association maintains

1472-610: The 1,788,000 Han groups . These consist of a group of five to ten members in a neighbourhood who place a combined weekly order which is then delivered by truck the following week. A strength of Japanese consumer co-ops in recent years has been the growth of community supported agriculture in which fresh produce is sent direct to consumers from producers without going through the market. Some of co-op organisations, for example, in Tokyo metropolis and Kanagawa prefecture , manage their local political parties from 1970's; generally names itself as

1536-493: The Anglia Buying Service, making its buying and logistics expertise available to other co-operatives. In 2008, it launched an electronic commerce venture, selling bedroom, living and dining room furniture, with free delivery throughout Great Britain. In 2011, the business of 19 Westgate Department Stores, including Contact Electrical and Comfortmaker Textile Superstores was divested to J E Beale for £7.5m. Ownership of

1600-1016: The Anglia Co-operative Society. In 2011, adjacent petrol filling stations, previously supplied by Shell , moved across to Total , aligning buying with the Co-operative Retail Trading Group. The Co-operative Travel at Anglia Co-operative Society was a trading name of the Freedom Travel Group which, in 2012, became part of the Thomas Cook Group . The Anglia Co-operative Funeral group incorporates R J Scholes (Bourne, Deeping St. James and Stamford), Harvey Brothers (Bungay), J H Landin & Son (Chatteris), A Coley & Son (Crowland), George James & Son (March), Watkins & Stafford (Peterborough), Dennis Easton (St. Ives), Fishers (Southwald), H E Bull & Son (Whittlesey) and M J Claypole (Yaxley) funeral directors. At

1664-498: The Anglia Society operated on that basis, giving all members equal voting rights. Each member was required to hold at least one share of £1 which was paid in full on entering the Society. Organisations were also eligible to join. Agreed by the membership, the Society's rules provided for a board of ten, three of whom may have been employees of the Society, to be elected by the annual general meeting . The full board met monthly and sub-committees met quarterly or less frequently. Dividend

1728-463: The Anglia Society. The Group subsequently merged with United in 2007. Thus, through acquisition, many Westgate branches were situated further afield than the core Eastern region. The name was taken from the Society's late nineteenth century headquarters, home of the original Westgate House Department Store on Park Road, Peterborough. In 2007, the Society—by now the largest in the non-food sector—formed

1792-504: The Companies Act 2013 ("Act") regulates the requirement to conduct an annual meeting of the members to discuss the four ordinary businesses. As per section 96 of the Act, every Company requires to conduct such a meeting by serving a notice of 21 days minimum length prior to the meeting either at the latest known address or email id of the members. However, a company may conduct such meeting through

1856-765: The Peterborough Society the following year. Consumer co-operative Consumers' cooperatives often take the form of retail outlets owned and operated by their consumers, such as food co-ops . However, there are many types of consumers' cooperatives, operating in areas such as health care, insurance, housing , utilities and personal finance (including credit unions ). In some countries, consumers' cooperatives are known as cooperative retail societies or retail co-ops , though they should not be confused with retailers' cooperatives , whose members are retailers rather than consumers. Consumers' cooperatives may, in turn, form cooperative federations . These may come in

1920-693: The Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society (1973) and the South Suburban Co-operative Society (1984). Consumer cooperatives utilize the cooperative principle of democratic member control , or one member/one vote. Most consumer cooperatives have a board of directors elected by and from the membership. The board is usually responsible for hiring management and ensuring that the cooperative meets its goals, both financial and otherwise. Democratic functions, such as petitioning or recall of board members, may be codified in

1984-548: The Society directly or indirectly conducive to the interests or convenience of the Society's members or any section thereof". In addition, the aims stated, "The Society shall at all times conduct its business and affairs in accordance with the Rochdale Principles of Co-operation , as published from time to time by the International Co-operative Alliance , serving the needs of its customers, employees and

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2048-413: The Society's trading area have been operated by National Co-operative Chemists, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Co-operative Group trading as The Co-operative Pharmacy . The business and assets of the former Anglia Dairies were transferred to Dairy Crest Group in 1997 for an aggregate consideration of £4.5m. The consumer co-operative movement has its roots in the early part of the nineteenth century and

2112-638: The board of directors and transact other business that requires shareholder approval. Notice of the annual general meeting must be in writing and is subject to a minimum notice period that varies by state. In 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to require all public companies to make their annual meeting materials available online. The final rules required compliance by large accelerated filers beginning on January 1, 2008, and by all other filers beginning on January 1, 2009. The "e-proxy" rules allow two methods for companies to deliver their proxy materials,

2176-428: The business running. In smaller businesses the consumer/owners are often workers as well. Consumers' cooperatives can differ greatly in start up and also in how the co-op is run but to be true to the consumers' cooperative form of business the enterprise should follow the Rochdale Principles . The customers or consumers of the goods and/or services the cooperative provides are often also the individuals who have provided

2240-494: The capital required to launch or purchase that enterprise. The major difference between consumers' cooperatives and other forms of business is that the purpose of a consumers' cooperative association is to provide quality goods and services at the lowest cost to the consumer/owners rather than to sell goods and services at the highest price above cost that the consumer is willing to pay. In practice consumers' cooperatives price goods and services at competitive market rates. Where

2304-479: The communities in which it trades". In practice, the Society's principal undertakings at the time of merger with the Midlands Society, besides food and fuel retail, comprised the provision of funeral, optical, travel and foreign exchange services. Its previous engagements include department and furniture stores, motor car dealerships, dispensing chemists, dairy and bakery. In 2004, United Co-operatives , based in

2368-515: The cooperative as would appear in any other company. This is one critique of consumer cooperatives in favor of worker cooperatives . Many advocates of the formation of consumer cooperatives—from a variety of political perspectives—have seen them as integral to the achievement of wider social goals. For example, the founding document of the Rochdale Pioneers , who established one of the earliest consumer cooperatives in England in 1844, expressed

2432-441: The cooperative movement stemmed from such socialist writers as Robert Owen and Charles Fourier . Robert Owen , considered by many as the father of the cooperative movement, made his fortune in the cotton trade, but believed in putting his workers in a good environment with access to education for themselves and their children. These ideas were put into effect successfully in the cotton mills of New Lanark , Scotland , where

2496-692: The dispensation. In this case, an AGM must be held if at least 3 months remain to its due date. If a private company decides to have AGMs, it must adhere to the deadlines. The annual general meeting must be held within 6 months after the FYE. Next, every company must lodge the obligatory annual return within one month after its AGM. In the United Kingdom it became optional with effect from 1 October 2007 for any private company to hold an AGM, unless its articles of association specifically require it to do so. Every state requires public companies incorporated within it to hold an annual general meeting of shareholders to elect

2560-421: The early 19th century and by 1830 there were several hundred co-operatives. William King made Owen's ideas more workable and practical. He believed in starting small, and realized that the working classes would need to set up co-operatives for themselves, so he saw his role as one of instruction. He founded a monthly periodical called The Co-operator , the first edition of which appeared on 1 May 1828. It gave

2624-404: The financial year end (FYE). To dispense with AGMs, company members need to pass a resolution. All the shareholders must endorse the document for it to come into force. Having dispensed with AGMs, companies pass written resolutions on matters that would otherwise be discussed at AGMs. The resolution putting an end to AGMs may cease to be in force – members can adopt a new resolution to revoke

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2688-619: The first co-operative store was opened. Spurred on by this success, Owen had the idea of forming "villages of co-operation" where workers would drag themselves out of poverty by growing their own food, making their own clothes, and ultimately becoming self-governing. He tried to form such communities in Orbiston, Scotland and in New Harmony, Indiana in the United States of America , but both communities failed. Similar early experiments were made in

2752-407: The form of cooperative wholesale societies , through which consumers' cooperatives collectively purchase goods at wholesale prices and, in some cases, own factories. Alternatively, they may be members of cooperative unions . Consumer cooperation has been a focus of study in the field of cooperative economics . Consumer cooperatives rose to prominence during the industrial revolution as part of

2816-489: The freehold properties remained with the Society, which continued to operate AHF furniture and carpets, Co-operative Travel, Westgate Optical and Stylistics hair and beauty concessions; Beales committed to maintain and honour the dividend at these branches, until replaced by their Love Rewards scheme the following year. The Co-operative Home store in Hartlepool and Westgate stores at Blyth, Scunthorpe and March were not included in

2880-628: The insecurities of wage labor." The first documented consumer cooperative was founded in 1769, in a barely-furnished cottage in Fenwick, East Ayrshire , when local weavers manhandled a sack of oatmeal into John Walker's whitewashed front room and began selling the contents at a discount, forming the Fenwick Weavers' Society . In the decades that followed, several cooperatives or cooperative societies formed including Lennoxtown Friendly Victualling Society, founded in 1812. The philosophy that underpinned

2944-404: The issue of a notice of shorter length with prior approval of not less than 95 % of the members entitled to vote at such meeting. The members elects the auditors of the company in the annual general meeting. The Act also mandates that such meeting shall be within prescribed time 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, to be not held on national holidays, and also to be conducted at the place/ town/ village where

3008-555: The merger of many independent retail societies, and their wholesale societies and federations. In 1863, twenty years after the Rochdale Pioneers opened their co-operative, the North of England Co-operative Society was launched by 300 individual co-ops across Yorkshire and Lancashire . By 1872, it had become known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS). Through the 20th century, smaller societies merged with CWS, such as

3072-656: The merger took place on 1 December, with the Society transferring engagements to Midlands Co-operative. On 15 January 2014, members of the merged society approved a change of name to Central England Co-operative effective from 25 January 2014. Under its rules, "The objects of the Society are to carry on the business of a store-keeper, general dealer and universal provider in all its branches, and in particular to buy, sell, manufacture, produce, grow, cultivate and deal in goods, stores, consumable articles, chattels and effects of all kinds, both wholesale and retail and generally to engage in any business, trade or industry which may seem to

3136-506: The now-famous Rochdale Principles , and over a period of four months they struggled to pool one pound sterling per person for a total of 28 pounds of capital. On December 21, 1844, they opened their store with a very meagre selection of butter, sugar, flour, oatmeal and a few candles. Within three months, they expanded their selection to include tea and tobacco, and they were soon known for providing high quality, unadulterated goods. The Co-operative Group formed gradually over 140 years from

3200-408: The organization presides over the meeting and may give an overall status of the organization. The secretary prepares the minutes and may be asked to read important papers. The treasurer may present a financial report. Other officers, the board of directors , and committees may give their reports. Attending this meeting are the members or the shareholders of the organization, depending on

3264-715: The other countries, every Company incorporated in India require to conduct such meeting on or before the due date on the last day of the sixth month of every closing of the financial year. In India, the Act has recently undergone major changes. The Corporate Affairs Ministry has recently enforced a new amendment act 'Companies 2nd Amendment Act 2017' from 26 January 2018. In Singapore, only public companies must hold AGMs. With effect from 31 August 2018, private limited companies can decide whether they want AGMs or not. Private companies can be exempted from holding AGMs if they send their financial statements to their members within five months after

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3328-551: The principles of self-help and social equity that developed during the Victorian era. One of the first successful retail co-operatives was established in 1844 by the Rochdale Pioneers . The society was founded as Peterborough Equitable Industrial Co-operative Society in 1876 and incorporated in 1887. It later absorbed the following societies, becoming Peterborough and District Co-operative Society and finally Greater Peterborough Regional Co-operative Society in 1982: Stanley Tiffany ,

3392-411: The purchase of capital assets such as plant and buildings.) While some claim that surplus payment returns to consumer/owner patrons should be taxed the same as dividends paid to corporate stock holders, others argue that consumer cooperatives do not return a profit by traditional definition, and similar tax standards do not apply. Since consumer cooperatives are run democratically, they are subject to

3456-501: The registered office of the company situated. However, in the recent trends, as per the latest amendment notified by the Corporate Affairs ministry in India, the unlisted public companies may conduct such meeting in any part of India by taking in advance unanimous approval from all the members in writing or electronically. The four business includes 1) Financial statement approval 2) Appointment of Director 3) Appointment & to fix

3520-478: The remuneration of statutory auditor 4) Declare the dividend In India, the Companies Act 2013 ("Act") regulates the requirement to conduct a meeting of its members have participation/ hold in the share capital of the company to meet on annual basis in a general meeting called annual general meeting within the prescribed time window the of 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on other than national holidays to discuss some important business includes financial statements approval. Unlike

3584-516: The sale. The site of the March store was sold to Reef Estates and the premises leased to Boyes , although the Co-operative Travel branch previously based there was unaffected, relocating to its own premises. The Hartlepool store closed when the Society's 10-year lease expired later that year. The Blyth and Scunthorpe stores continued to trade as Westgate for the time being due to devalued freehold and

3648-406: The same problems typical of democratic government. Such difficulties can be mitigated by frequently providing member/owners with reliable educational materials regarding current business conditions. In addition, because a consumer cooperative is owned by the users of a good or service as opposed to the producers of that good or service, the same sorts of labor issues may arise between the workers and

3712-471: The share account wallet on receipt. The Co-operative Group relaunched its own membership scheme in 2006. In 2008, the Anglia Society joined the new scheme under a reciprocal arrangement. The Society began allocating dividend through the card scheme, which members were able to use nationally at participating societies. This included food purchases, on which the Society had not previously paid dividend. A new rule book based on Co-operatives 12th edition model rules

3776-634: The time of merger, the way the Society marketed its funeral business and the prominence of the Anglia Co-operative brand on private name funeral homes was being reviewed. Anglia Motor Group previously sold Audi , Vauxhall , Honda and Fiat in King's Lynn, Vauxhall in Wisbech and Hunstanton and Proton in Beccles. It also operated a King's Lynn bodyshop trading as Bodyline. Since 1999, co-operative chemists in

3840-597: The type of organization. At such meeting, the Company Secretary of the Company plays a crucial role in convening, conduct, and to attend the meeting. They may be supported by their Corporate Secretarial team. Under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act non-profit Canadian organizations must hold an annual general meeting and report its date to the government in its annual report. In India,

3904-618: Was a registered Industrial and Provident Society , a member of the Co-operative Union , the Co-operative Retail Trading Group and a corporate member of The Co-operative Group (formerly Co-operative Wholesale Society), the largest consumer co-operative in the world. On 19 September 2013, it was announced that the boards of Anglia Co-operative Society and Midlands Co-operative Society had agreed merger terms. Approved by members on 4 and 18 November, legal completion of

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3968-569: Was approved by the membership and registered with the Financial Services Authority in 2009. The Midlands Society also operated the membership scheme and similar arrangements continue with Central England Co-operative. Anglia Regional Co-operative Party organise in Peterborough and west Norfolk . In 2008, Rainbow supermarkets and Co-op Local stores began the process of re-branding as The Co-operative Food whilst remaining part of

4032-497: Was sold to Booktopia . The Wine Society (Australian Wine Consumers’ Co-operative Society Limited), established in 1946, now has more than 58,000 members. It sources and sells premium wines under the Society label, runs comprehensive wine education courses, and recognises excellence from young winemakers. Bank Australia was formed in 2011 as the Members and Education Credit Union. It changed its name to Bank Australia in 2015. The bank

4096-417: Was transferred to Anglia Home Furnishings Holdings as a going concern. A partner of the Society, Anglia Home Furnishings is the largest employee-owned co-operative in the UK. The sale included ARCS Internet, trading as Co-op Furniture, the online store of AHF and Westgate, which was renamed AHF Internet. Co-operative societies are owned and controlled by their members on the principle of one member one vote and

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