| Type | Consumer co-operatives |
|---|---|
| Owner | The Co-operative Group |
| Introduced | 2008 |
| Related brands | Co-op cloverleaf (below) Somerfield Britannia |
| Markets | United Kingdom and Crown dependencies |
| Website | www.co-operative.coop/brandhome/ |
The Co-operative is a common branding used by a variety of co-operatives based in the United Kingdom.
Many in the UK consider the Co-op to be a single national business, however each Co-operative is a franchise selling branded goods marketed by the Co-operative Group.[1] The Co-op group is the largest consumer co-operative in the world and the biggest user of the Co-operative brand in its 4,500 trading outlets across the country.[2] Each individual and independent retail society in the UK trades as "the Co-op",[3] and many, such as the Midcounties Co-operative and Anglia Regional Co-operative Society, use the common brand.[4]
Most co-operative societies have businesses in many different areas; however, the largest areas of the businesses are in foodstores, particularly convenience stores, thus the largest and most visible use of the branding is as The Co-operative Food.
As of 2008[update], societies which have yet to rebrand, such as the Heart of England Co-operative Society and Scotmid, use the 1993 cloverleaf logo.
Contents |
Original 1968 "cloverleaf" Refreshed 1993 version |
Following the success of the Rochdale Pioneers, co-operative shops were established across the UK and took customers away from private traders who responded by making it difficult for co-operatives to source quality goods to sell to their members.[5] The solution was for co-operative retailers to come together in 1863 and form the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) (now the Co-operative Group) responsible for sourcing and producing goods for sale in its members' shops, and for unified marketing and branding for the societies. The CWS carried out this role for members for nearly 100 years, and in 1968 launched "Operation Facelift", which resulted in the first national Co-op logo.[6]
The movement's cloverleaf logo created the impression that it was a single organisation rather than independent organisations sharing common principles.[4] The brand was strengthened by the creation of the Co-operative Retail Trading Group (CRTG) in 1993, providing Co-op branded products and other food supplies to its members: by 2002, the CRTG provided 100% of food supplies sold by UK consumer co-operatives.[7] Over time the brand became tarnished by inconsistent customer delivery and image perceptions of the cloverleaf logo were irreparably damaged. Market research carried out in the early 2000s showed a consistent decline in consumer ratings.[4]
The Co-operative Movement called on the Prime Minister to establish a Co-operative Commission to consider ways to ensure the survival of the co-operative business model into the 21st century. The commission, chaired by John Monks, published its conclusions in January 2001 making recommendations regarding branding. Most important were that a panel representing all sections of the movement should be established to monitor and maintain the positive image of the brand, and that it should consider the "cloverleaf" logo's future.[8]
The Co-operative Group's designers and marketers collaborated with Harry Pearce and John McConnell of the designers' co-operative Pentagram, to develop a new identity to represent “The Co-operative”. The selected artwork was based on a sans serif bold lower case (Neue Helvetica) logotype for the wording, with different colours representing different businesses. It won a silver award from the Design Business Association. The brand was trialled between 2005 and 2007, at several outlets of the Co-operative Group, Scotmid, United Co-operatives and Midcounties Co-operative. A 2007 pilot programme of 115 shops saw sales rise by 15%, beating the 4.6% increase at stores using the 1993 cloverleaf. The brand was introduced to food packaging in 2007, and officially launched in 2008. It was used in national advertising and a national programme of store refits.[3][9][10]
On 2 March 2009, the Co-operative Group bought Somerfield Stores for £1.56 billion following regulatory approval and the stores not sold as part of the conditions of the sale were rebranded with The Co-operative Food name.[11] The number of stores owned by Co-operative Group rose to 3,000 after the purchase and led to the group's share of the UK supermarket sector rising from 4.5% to 8% and its pre-tax profits for the six months to July 2009 rose by 17% to £229 million.[12]
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