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about us
Who are we?
Midlands Co-operative Society Limited - or Midlands Co-op as it is
better known - is the second largest independent retail Society in
the UK.
It is important that you understand a little of our history. In 1960
there were around 950 retail Societies in the UK: today there are less
than 40. The rest merged to form larger Societies. Midlands Co-op owes
its existence to mergers with 65 other Societies, the most recent of
which were in 1995, when Central Midlands Co-operative Society Limited
merged with Leicestershire Co-operative Society Limited, in 2001, when
Chesterfield and District Co-operative Society Limited merged and 2006
when Desborough Industrial Society and Ilkeston Consumer Co-operative
merged with us. This integration of Societies explains our complex
geographical trading map.
Today, Midlands Co-op is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing
some 7,600 staff and with gross sales in excess of £749 Million.
Our principal areas of activity are Retail - food and non-food;
Travel; Funeral Services, and Transport. We also have a substantial
investment property portfolio.
Although we trade principally in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and the
Greater Midlands, we also have trading outlets in Herefordshire, Lincolnshire,
Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire,
Warwickshire and Worcestershire! At the time of publication we have
over 400 trading outlets, ranging from superstores to convenience stores,
supermarkets, department stores, travel shops, funeral homes, garages,
post offices and petrol stations.
Providing management and support for our operational activities is
the Business Support Centre, located in Lichfield in Staffordshire.
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What sets us apart from our competitors?
Let's begin by explaining what a co-operative is. The accepted
definition of a co-operative is 'an autonomous association of
persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and
cultural needs'. Whilst organised co-operation is probably as
old as mankind, it was the Rochdale Pioneers who set up their successful
retail co-operative back in 1844, and gave us the basis for Co-operative
Values and Principles that co-operatives worldwide sign up to today.
It is these Co-operative Values and Principles that set us apart from
other businesses.
The Co-operative Values that we subscribe to are:
- Self-help and Self-Responsibility
- Democracy and Equality
- Equity and Solidarity
Then there are the Co-operative Ethical Values that co-operators across
the world believe in:
- Honesty
- Openness
- Social responsibility
- Caring for others
The Co-operative Principles that we adopt are:
- Voluntary and open membership
- Democratic member control
- Member economic participation
- Autonomy and independence
- Education, training and information
- Co-operation among co-operatives
- Concern for the Community
Here at Midlands Co-op, we have adopted our own set of values, that
enable us to put our vision of 'Making a difference' into
practice:
- Supporting out Co-operative Society
- Recognising effort and achievement
- Success
- Openness and honesty
- Continually improving
- Customer focus
But what does all this mean in practice? The chart below illustrates
the difference between Midlands Co-op and a competitor company:
Differences between Midlands Co-op and its Competitors
| |
Midlands Co-op |
Competitor |
| Profits |
Our members share in Midlands Co-op trading profit through the
payment of a biannual dividend |
Investors/shareholders share in company's profits |
| Control |
Each member has one vote. Members can exercise their democratic
rights twice a year at Members' and Interim Members' meetings |
One vote per share. A major shareholder can influence the direction
of a company far more than a small shareholder |
| Ownership |
Our business is owned by our Members |
Investors own a company |
| Distribution |
The amount of Dividend a member receives, relates to spend value
in a given period |
This depends of the number of shares an investor holds |
| Share Value |
£1 value remains the same |
Varies with Stock Exchange |
| Shares |
Members' shares are withdrawable |
Investors' shares are tradeable |
| Community Involvement |
This is fundamental to our principles |
Varies from company to company |
In addition to distributing a share of our profits to our Members,
we also, through our Stakeholder Strategy, distribute a share of our
profits to our employees and to the communities we trade in. Through
sponsorship, donations and our Community Dividend Fund, we have given
hundreds of thousands of pounds back to our communities and have, over
the years, benefited many thousands of charities and good causes.
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Relationship with other Co-operative Societies
You may have seen shops owned by other Co-operative Societies, such
as United, Heart of England, and West Midlands. Each of these Societies
operates as a business in its own right. However, we do work together
with other Societies to buy our food through the Co-operative
Retail Trading Group (CRTG); we purchase our travel needs through the
Co-operative Travel Trading Group (CTTG), and are members of the National
Association of Funeral Directors. This provides us with economies of
scale and the purchasing power of much larger companies. Our membership
of the CRTG also enables us to benefit from very clear labelling on
our goods, sound sourcing policies, and ethical and fair trading policies.
Management and democracy at Midlands Co-op
A Board of non-executive Directors appoints the Society's Chief
Executive. A democratically appointed President chairs the Board. The
Chief Executive's senior management team comprises the Society
Secretary and General Managers responsible for Retail, Shared Services
(Finance and IT), Travel, Funeral, Property and Transport, Service
Excellence and Corporate Affairs.
See our social responsibility
website here.
Map to Business Support Centre, Lichfield
Copyright Statement
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is the property and copyright of Midlands Co-operative Society Limited (MCS), which carries on business
in the United Kingdom as Midlands Co-op, Midlands Co-op Retail, Midlands Co-op Travel, Midlands Co-op
Funeral Services, Midlands Co-op Property & Transport, and Midlands Co-op Member Relations and other trading names. All rights expressly reserved.
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Midlands Co-operative Society Limited.
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Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of MCS. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
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Permission must be obtained from MCS to use any information, including images, available on this website.
Midlands Co-operative Society Limited is an Industrial & Provident Society registered with the Financial Services Authority under the Industrial & Provident Society Acts 1965 to 2002.
Registered No.10143R.
Registered Office: Hermes Road, Lichfield, Staffordshire WS13 6RH.
Last updated May 2008.
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