Coop is after the Migros second largest Swiss the enterprise in the retail trade. To Coop among other things a restaurant chain, Coop Bau&Hobby market, Coop town center department stores, the electronics specialist shop Interdiscount, the furniture house Toptip, the IMPORT Parfumerien, the Coop Vitality pharmacies, Coop gas stations, the group of hotels as well as numerous production enterprises belong like e.g. Bell, Swissmill, Pasta Gala and further.

In Switzerland there are supermarkets and meganet curtains over 800 Coop. With approx. 1,500 sales offices the Coop group offers the closest sales office net of Switzerland; for member households there is the Coop magazine "Coop newspaper", which appears in three national languages. The enterprise had 2003 a conversion of approx. 15 billion Swiss Franconia (approx. 12.5 billion US Dollar) and employed over 50.000 coworkers.

Swiss the enterprise does not have to do anything with the German CO OI.

History

"Fathers "of the consumer cooperatives "the fair pioneers are called of Rochdale "in England. 1864 transferred the Glarner textile manufacturer Jean Jenny with the establishment of a consumer association to shrank their seven principles (open membership, democratic administration, reimbursement of the surplus to members, limited capital return, political neutrality, cash payment, promotion of the education), which should consider to the economic realities. Legally a cooperative was considered always as special organization form or quasi as mixture between association and corporation.

Into many Swiss cities consumer associations were created at that time. 1853 and 1869 failed two attempts of a union of the consumer associations of Zurich, Basel, Grenchen, Biel and Olten. This succeeded only with a third meeting on 11 January 1890 in Olten, as the federation of Swiss consumer cooperatives (VSK) was based. Five cooperatives were initial members and at the year end counted the VSK 43 members. With the creation one "central office for goods switching "noticed the federation 1892 for the first time apart from administrative also economic authority. With the rising number at cooperatives, the VSK developed 407 to 1915 its activities and its infrastructure. 1902 appeared for the first time "the Genossenschaftliche people sheet "as a forerunner of the today's "Coop newspaper ". In this publication organ the Konsumgenossenschafter argued at that time among other things with meeting with hostility on the part of the small trade.

The actual development took place only in the second quarter century after the establishment, but this was braked by commercialpolitical obstacles after the First World War. In addition it came that cooperatives are for taxation alike with corporations since that time, which represents a financial disadvantage for these non-profit oriented organizations. During the Second World War the VSK its whole Kraft placed into the service of the national supply. After end of war constantly rose both Swiss the gross domestic product and the resident population, so that with the demand also the offer in the retail trade increased. In the 50's and 60's began therefore the search for new strategies, in order to be able to hold with the changes step. In addition the regionalization of the distribution centers belonged 1954 and an amendment of the by-laws0 1964. These fell above all the seven principles of Rochdale after over 100 years to the victim.

The largest cut in federation history took place however 1969 via the new managerial policy, which found its symbolic conversion in the change of the name VSK to Coop (Switzerland). The merger plan, which reduced the number of the cooperatives from at that time 407 usually local village and city cooperatives to approximately 30 to 40 part-regional cooperatives, formed an important part of the new policy. Later merger plans formed from it again regional cooperatives, whose number of in the middle of the 90's was still with 14. By the building of Coop of center beside it also the number of the sales offices sank with increasing sales area. A further trend of the 70's and 80's formed the enlargement of the Nonfoodbereichs in the larger (with integration of building markets, restaurant, travel agency, shoe shops etc.).

The most important innovation of the 90's was the stronger promotion of the offer at bio products for environmental protection reasons. In the context of the expansion of the Nonfoodbereichs the prominent position of the Coopgruppe earns mention with the trade with entertainment electronics, since by the assumption Swiss of the business of the Interdiscount added AG 1996 the conversion within this range significantly. Besides a further revision of the structures was planned, which 1999 coopforte as ""were presented and approved. On 1 January 2001 all 14 regional cooperatives with Coop (Switzerland) fused to an enterprise. On regional level are since that time regional advice. A enterprise-strategic goal of the president Hansueli Loosli is it to leave the main competitor Migros behind itself and remain low-priced opposite possible foreign competitors. But Coop remains further exclusively in Switzerland active and would like to extend among other things on-line Shopangebot here.

Since 2005 have Coop also its own cheap line the Prix warranty call themselves. It is a direct Konkurrenzierung of the M-budget-line of the Migros (Switzerland). The acceptance at customers is throughout high, however Prix warranty lies further behind M-budget.

Competitor

Migros, Denner (enterprise), Carrefour (enterprise), Aldi, globe (department store), Manor.

Related links

• coop.ch

Articles in category "Coop (Switzerland)"

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