Southern Co-operative

Southern Co-op (originally Portsea Island Mutual Co-operative Society Ltd, now officially The Southern Co-operative Limited)[1] is a regional consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. The principal activities of the Society are food retailing, funerals and cafés. It operates more than 300 convenience stores as well as funeral homes and Starbucks franchises. Its operations are mainly located in the southern English counties of Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, London, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire. Southern Co-op society is owned by over 150,000 members who share in the business's profits and democratically control its operations. It was previously registered as an Industrial and Provident Society, but its status is now as a mutual society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.[1]

The Southern Co-operative Limited
TypeConsumer Co-operative
IndustryRetail
Founded1873
Headquarters1000 Lakeside, North Harbour, Western Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 3FE
Area served
Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, Berkshire, Somerset, Surrey, Devon, Bristol, Kent and parts of Dorset and Wiltshire.
Key people
Mark Ralf, Chair
Mark Smith, Chief Executive
ProductsGrocer, Funeral director, Independent living
RevenueIncrease £494 million (21/22)
Increase £3.3 million
MembersIncrease 138,748 (21/22)
Number of employees
Decrease 4,336 (21/22)
Websitethesouthernco-operative.co.uk

The business of Southern Co-op includes burial grounds in West Sussex, Dorset and Cheshire, crematoria in Hampshire and Devon. Additionally, Southern Co-op operates franchise stores operated by franchisees under the Welcome brand.

In the full year ending 30 January 2022, Southern Co-op recorded sales of £494m (£490.3m 2020/21) and a profit before tax of £3.3 million (£1.2m 2020/21). Society membership was 138,748 in 2021/22, up from 132,051 in 2020/21.[2]

29,323 new Members joined Southern Co-op during 2021-22 (5,996 in 2020-21)

During the year 478 accounts were closed upon request and 22,819 accounts forfeited in accordance with the Rules. 671 previously forfeited accounts were re-opened upon request by the Member. The forfeiture process is set out within Southern Co-op's Rules and is an important process to ensure that the membership register remains as accurate as possible.

History

Southern Co-op was formed in 1873 by dockyard workers who had transferred from Woolwich docks in east London to the Portsmouth dockyard. The workers had previously set up a successful Co-operative Society in Woolwich. When they arrived in Portsmouth they decided to replicate a similar set-up there.

In December 1872, 30 people attended a public meeting and unanimously agreed to pay one shilling (12 old pence) for the establishment of a local Co-operative. After five months, the Portsea Island Mutual Co-operative Society's first shop opened in Charles Street on 9 May 1873.

The head office was previously located at Fareham in Hampshire until, July 2011, when it moved to 1000 Lakeside, a business park in North Harbour, Portsmouth.[3]

Operations
Southern Co-operative branch in New Alresford, Hampshire in 2020.

Southern Co-op operates around 200 Co-operative Food stores, covering Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, Berkshire, Somerset, Surrey, Devon, Bristol, Kent and parts of Dorset and Wiltshire. They also operate more than 60 Starbucks stores which are franchised under Cobra Coffee - owned by Southern Co-op.

There are also over 60 Southern Co-op funeral branches across the south of England.[4]

Registered in England and Wales under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014,[1] it is a member of Co-operatives UK, the Co-operative Retail Trading Group and a corporate member of The Co-operative Group.

In April 2023 the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found "no further regulatory action is required" following a legal complaint over its use of facial recognition cameras.[5]

See also

References
  1. "FCA – Mutuals Public Register". Financial Conduct Authority. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  2. "Southern Co-op Annual Review 2019-2020". thesouthernco-operative.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  3. "1000 Lakeside is the new home for the Southern Co-operative". Southern Co-operative. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  4. "Continuity assured as four co-operative funeral branches change hands". The Co-operative Funeralcare. December 2021.
  5. "Blog: Balancing people's privacy rights with the need to prevent crime". ICO. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023.
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