A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise that is owned by its consumers and managed democratically, with the aim of meeting the needs and aspirations of its members rather than maximizing profit for outside investors, though many consumers' co-operatives do generate a surplus. They most commonly take the form of retail outlets, such as food co-ops, that are owned and run by their own customer members, but the model is also used in sectors such as healthcare, insurance, housing, utilities and credit unions. Individual consumers' co-operatives sometimes join together in federations called co-operative wholesale societies, through which they buy goods together at wholesale prices and may jointly own manufacturing facilities, or they may join a co-operative union, and the study of consumer co-operation forms an established part of co-operative economics. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core MechanismA consumers' co-operative operates by having the people who buy its goods or services also own and democratically govern the enterprise, so that surplus is returned to consumer-owners as a patronage refund or dividend, or reinvested in the co-operative, rather than paid out to outside shareholders seeking to maximize profit. 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Croydon Co-operative Society (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia, Lincolnshire Co-operative
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Consumers' Co-operative
Lead section
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.
Lead paragraph, on consumer ownership and patronage benefit
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 form of mutual aid, oriented toward service rather than pecuniary profit.
View the SourceWikipedia, Lincolnshire Co-operative
WikipediaAssociated With: Lincolnshire Co-operative, Lead sentenceQuote, Associated With: Lincolnshire Co-operative, Lead sentence
Lincolnshire Co-operative Limited, trading as Lincolnshire Co-op, is an independent consumer co-operative which operates in Lincolnshire, and surrounding counties.
Croydon Co-operative Society (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Croydon Co-operative Society, Lead sentenceQuote, Associated With: Croydon Co-operative Society, Lead sentence
The Croydon Co-operative Society was a cooperative retailer in Croydon and surrounding parts of Surrey, England.
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