Lincolnshire Co-operative Society
Encyclopedia
Lincolnshire Co-operative is a consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. It is a registered Industrial and Provident Society
Industrial and Provident Society
An industrial and provident society is a legal entity for a trading business or voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and New Zealand...

, a member of the Co-operative Union Ltd., the Co-operative Retail Trading Group
Co-operative Retail Trading Group
The Co-operative Retail Trading Group is the central buying group for co-operative retail societies in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1993, and says that it supplies 100% of food bought for sale by co-operatives in the UK, after being joined by the last two independent societies in 2002...

 and a corporate member of Co-operative Group Ltd. (formerly Co-operative Wholesale Society), the largest consumer co-operative in the world.

History

Lincolnshire Co-operative was founded as Lincoln Co-operative Society in 1861, inspired by Gainsborough
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...

 joiner Thomas Parker. The Society was concentrated in the city of Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....

 and surrounding villages. In recent years, it has expanded into county areas such as Grimsby and Cleethorpes. It does not extend into South Kesteven
South Kesteven
South Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping.-History:...

, which is covered by the Anglia Regional Co-operative Society
Anglia Regional Co-operative Society
Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Limited is the fifth largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the merger of the Greater Peterborough Regional and Anglia Co-operative Societies in 1987. The Society has a wide-ranging and extensive portfolio with over 100 stores,...

 (based in Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...

), and the former Greater Nottingham Co-operative Society (now part of the Co-operative Group). It does, however, trade in Newark
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...

 in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

.

Lincolnshire Co-operative Society celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2011.

Services

The Society operates convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...

s, pharmacies
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

, funeral director
Funeral director
A funeral director , also known as a mortician or undertaker, is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as well as the planning and arrangement of the actual funeral ceremony...

s, travel agents (as The Co-operative Travel
The Co-operative Travel
The Co-operative Travel is the trading name of Co-op Group Travel 1 Ltd., a subsidiary of the Co-operative Group. The largest independent travel agent in the United Kingdom; it is a member of the Co-operative Travel Trading Group and is both ABTA and ATOL bonded...

), Holland Brothers car dealership
Car dealership
A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. It employs automobile salespeople to do the selling...

, home stores, coffee shops and sub post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

s. It also runs Gadsby's Bakery, Lincoln Shop Equipment and Maltby's pharmacy wholesalers.

There are 200,000 Lincolnshire Co-operative members. Membership is open to all residents of its trading area and members receive their share of the profits in the form of dividend
Dividend
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be distributed to...

and a dividend bonus. Other ways the Society shares profits with members include investing in new and improved services and giving grants and donations to local community groups, charities and schools.

External links

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