Britain: There are still more co-op stores in more communities than any other retailer...
Smaller in volume and market share there are still more co-op stores in more communities than any other retailer in Britain. Coops in Britain: 3,301 neighborhood food stores; 1,236 other retail stories Top 4 British food retailers: 75.2% of total market share, 3,326 food stores "In post-war Britain almost a third of the families had a co-op number which we gave when we shopped at the co-op. In early December, when the dividend was paid, families excitedly stood in long lines to collect the cash. Every year our family's Christmas started at the Co-op." p.21 Midcounties Co-operative Society established "superdividend" "Points are given for purches, frequency, purchase of co-op brands and Ethical/Fair Trade items, training, voting, returning surveys, and attending the annual meeting. The Co-op wanted to reinforce very interaction they wished to encourage." P. 22.
SOURCE: David Thompson, "U.K. Cooperatives on the Move, Mergers, Marketing and Membership" Cooperative Grocer Nov Dec 2006, p. 20