Radstock Co-operative Society
Encyclopedia
Radstock Co-operative Society Ltd is a small consumer co-operative, which was established in Radstock
Radstock
Radstock is a town in Somerset, England, south west of Bath, and north west of Frome. It is within the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset and had a population of 5,275 according to the 2001 Census...

, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

 in 1868.

The society operates a large supermarket in Westfield
Westfield, Somerset
Westfield is a settlement lying on the Fosse Way between Radstock and Midsomer Norton in Somerset, England. In 2011 it was raised to the status of a civil parish....

, near Radstock
Radstock
Radstock is a town in Somerset, England, south west of Bath, and north west of Frome. It is within the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset and had a population of 5,275 according to the 2001 Census...

, and ten convenience shops in towns and villages in the area. The supermarket has non-food departments including a travel agent, post office, furniture, clothing, electrical goods, housewares and garden supplies. The society also owns Manor Farm, an organic dairy and egg farm which supplies a substantial part of the national market for organic
Organic farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...

 milk, notably to local cheese producer Wyke Farms in Bruton
Bruton
Bruton is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Brue seven miles south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, ten miles north-west of Gillingham and twelve miles south-west of Frome in the South Somerset district. The town has a...

), who uses it in The Co-operative brand
The Co-operative brand
The Co-operative is a common branding used by a variety of co-operatives based in the United Kingdom.Many in the UK mistakenly consider the Co-op to be a single national business, however each Co-operative is actually a franchise selling branded goods produced by the Co-operative Group The...

 nationally-distributed own label organic cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....

. It previously owned a Homemaker Furniture store, and had a turnover of £15 million in 2006. In the late 2000s, it began converting its stores from the 1993 dark blue Co-op cloverleaf branding, to green “The co-operative food” fascias, and acquired stores in Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet is a small rural town and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset in South West England. Situated approximately south of Bristol and east of Wells, the town is estimated to have a population of 9,700. It contains the administrative headquarters of Mendip District Council...

 and Coleford
Coleford, Somerset
Coleford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Mells River in the Mendip Hills five miles west of Frome. The village has a population of 2,350.-History:...

.

The society participates in the British co-operative movement. As well as supplying cheese for national distribution by 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...

 (CRTG) through Wyke Farms, it obtains food goods from the CRTG. It is a corporate member and shareholder of The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...

, a national business that is successor to the Co-operative Wholesale Society. It is owned and democratically controlled by its customer members, who numbered approximately 7500 in 2007.

Locations

  • Glastonbury
    Glastonbury
    Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...

    , Somerset, 2009
  • Coleford
    Coleford, Somerset
    Coleford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Mells River in the Mendip Hills five miles west of Frome. The village has a population of 2,350.-History:...

    , 2009, formerly Crossway Stores
  • Shepton Mallet
    Shepton Mallet
    Shepton Mallet is a small rural town and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset in South West England. Situated approximately south of Bristol and east of Wells, the town is estimated to have a population of 9,700. It contains the administrative headquarters of Mendip District Council...

    , 2008
  • Westfield
    Westfield, Somerset
    Westfield is a settlement lying on the Fosse Way between Radstock and Midsomer Norton in Somerset, England. In 2011 it was raised to the status of a civil parish....

     (Fosse Way), 1940s
  • Timsbury
    Timsbury, Somerset
    Timsbury is a village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority of the county of Somerset, south-west of Bath England...

    , 1916
  • Peasedown, 1908
  • Chew Magna
    Chew Magna
    Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the Unitary Authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the Ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,161.To the south of the village is Chew Valley Lake...

    , 1924
  • Chilcompton
    Chilcompton
    Chilcompton is a civil parish and village in Somerset, England, situated in the Mendip Hills two miles south of Midsomer Norton and 2.5 miles south-west of Westfield, close to the A37 .-History:...

    , 1919
  • Westfield
    Westfield, Somerset
    Westfield is a settlement lying on the Fosse Way between Radstock and Midsomer Norton in Somerset, England. In 2011 it was raised to the status of a civil parish....

     (Radco superstore), 1947
  • Street, Somerset
    Street, Somerset
    Street is a small village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, south-west of Glastonbury. The 2001 census records the village as having a population of 11,066...

    , October 2010
  • Frome, Somerset, September 2011
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