| Type | Consumer Co-operative |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1873 |
| Headquarters | Building 1000, Lakeside North Harbour, Western Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 3FE |
| Key people | David Blow, Chairman Mark Smith, Chief executive |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Grocer, Funeral director, www.co-opxest.com |
| Revenue | £158 million |
| Employees | Over 3000 |
| Website | www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk |
Southern Co-operatives Limited is a regional consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It is a registered Industrial and Provident Society,[1] a member of the Co-operative Union Ltd., the Co-operative Retail Trading Group and a corporate member of Co-operative Group Ltd. (formerly Co-operative Wholesale Society), the largest consumer co-operative in the world. Head office is located at Fareham in Hampshire. The principal activities of the Society are food retailing and funerals. It operates over 100 convenience stores covering the counties of Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire. The Society was, until 1998, known as the Portsea Island Mutual Co-operative Society, founded in 1873.[2] In 2009, it purchased 13 stores from Nearby Stores, that had gone into administration at the end of 2008.[3] Membership is open to all residents of its trading area, with members receiving a share of the profits in the form of dividend.
In April 2009, plans were released to staff and members that Southern Co-operatives would adopt The Co-operative brand programme. It would re-brand within the next two years as The Southern Co-operative using the same uniforms and fascias as Co-operative Group stores, to "better reflect [their] status as a completely independent regional society owned, controlled and managed exclusively by local people in the South of England, whilst playing [a] full part in the exciting co-operative developments taking place nationally." As of 2009 the company revealed its latest online venture Xest which is a site aimed at selling products that aid mobility and help improve the standard of living for the physically impaired. [4][5]
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