Letter: How co-operative are these Co-op shops?
Wednesday 6th July 2011, 10:20AM BST.
Letter: In Pant, near Oswestry, we are lucky, we have a busy rural village shop run by the Co-operative. They have just refurbished it and it now looks every inch the corporate retail outlet. They no doubt hope this will improve the shop’s takings.
When they had finished they did not put back the noticeboard. You know the sort of thing, a hotch potch of postcards offering piano lessons, people asking for help with lost cats, local drama club productions etc. The sort of thing that holds a community together and makes the village shop the hub around which the village revolves.
The Co-op seems to be to taking over more and more convenience stores and turning them into the McDonald’s of village shops.
Here are a few phrases taken from their corporate website (ethical operating plan, support for British farming, community hub, responsible retailing, bringing communities together, keeping communities thriving, making a difference in the local area, co-operative support ) Empty words, we used to have a village shop, now we only have a Co-op.
This letter is copied to most, if not all the parish councils in my part of Shropshire.
I hope the Co-op reads this and we get our noticeboard back.
It is up to the rest of you to try to keep yours, you don’t value it until someone takes it away.
Roderick Melling
Member of Llanymynech and Pant Parish Council
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You didn’t mention in your letter whether you discussed it with the store manager before writing to everybody in Shropshire.
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Well said.
Co-op stores are normally a real boon to the local community and do lots to help .
Why do people love to moan and whinge?
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Exactly!
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As it seems to be a corporate decision, OJ, the point of that would be… what?
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I can’t see the part in the letter that says it was a corporate decision.
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The Co-op, along with other mutuals such as Nationwide Building Society have gradually started to lose their original creating foundation and are becoming more motivated by corporate rules and profit.
Anyone who still believes that the CEO of any such mutual company has stakeholders’ interests at heart over making money to pay ever-greater salaries and bonuses is simply naive.
No problem in particular with them adopting that more commercial view (and it’s often necessary to survive in the World) but it would be nice if they would be more open and truthful about it.
And be realistic, Mr. Melling; some bloke sitting at Co-op HQ in Manchester or wherever is hardly likely to be too concerned about a “thriving community” or “co-operative support” in some obscure town in Wales, he just wants to ensure that the empire expands.
BTW, as you write as a member of the parish council, did the parish council not have any input into the planning process when this store was refurbished? Why did you not specify the noticeboard to be re-erected, along with any other requirements that you felt to be appropriate?
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They do the same in most of the small outlets, My argument was your banning local business from advertising on your notice board in our local village the managers answer was yes.
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If you just want a noticeboard then ask for one. I,m not sure what you find wrong with an “ethical operating policy” – or would you prefer to support an unethical one? What evidence do you have that the other statements are “empty words”. In my experience the Co-op do support local initiatives and consider the views of it’s members and customers. You should be thankful that Tescos haven’t bought up half the village and built a superstore – then you’d have something to complain about.
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As a member of your parish council, couldn’t you arrange some fund raising and find a site for a new notice board somewhere? Why does it need to be at the shop? You’d also be in a position to let residents know that they can still advertise, just in a different place.
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The simple answer is to ask the manager to get the notice board re-instated.
Every Co-operative store should have a Members Notice Board located in a prominent position. This is not an option; it’s a given.
If your shop hasn’t got one it’s an oversight.
You obviously haven’t asked the store manager before complaining to every Tom, Dick and Harriet.
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