Coop () is one of Switzerland's largest

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

and

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

companies. It is structured in the form of a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

society with around 2.5 million members. As of 2019, Coop operated 2,478 shops and employed more than 90,000 people in Switzerland. According to Bio Suisse, the Swiss organic producers' association, Coop accounts for half of all the

organic food Organic food, also known as ecological or biological food, refers to foods and beverages produced using methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resou ...

sold in Switzerland. In June 2011, independent German rating agency Oekom Research awarded Coop with the title of "World's Most Sustainable Retailer". Coop has three primary brands with a sustainability selling proposition: Coop Oecoplan (various daily life products), Coop Naturaline (textile products) and Coop Naturaplan (food). The company also sells products bearing the

Max Havelaar ''Max Havelaar; or, The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company'' () is an 1860 novel by Multatuli (the pen name of Multatuli, Eduard Douwes Dekker), which played a key role in shaping and modifying Dutch Ethical Policy, Dutch colonial poli ...

Fairtrade label. Coop also has a low-cost product line, "Prix Garantie". Coop owns the Swiss chocolate company Halba. Coop publishes a weekly magazine called ''Coopzeitung'' (in German), ''Coopération'' (in French) and ''Cooperazione'' (in Italian). The chain has an online presence at coop.ch. The web site offers much of the same selection found in the Coop stores and delivers groceries, wine, flowers, books, and other products to customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It currently markets its services in German, French, Italian, and English.

Summary

The Coop Group is headquartered in Switzerland and operates in the retail, wholesale, and production sectors. Coop Group operates store formats in the food, non-food and service sectors. With Transgourmet Holding AG, Coop is Europe's second largest cash & carry and wholesale supplies business. In total, the Coop Group has around 2,500 retail outlets in Switzerland and 124 cash & carry markets in Switzerland and other European countries. The Coop Group has a workforce of around 90,000.

History

In 1864, textile industrialist Jean Jenny-Ryffel formed Switzerland's first consumer cooperative in Schwanden in the canton of

Glarus Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

societies emerged in the country. In 1890, many of them joined together to form the ''Verband Schweizerischer Konsumvereine (VSK)'' (French: ''Union suisse des sociétés de consommation (USC)''). In 1969, it was renamed to its current name, ''Coop Genossenschaft'' (French: ''Coop société coopérative''; Italian: ''Coop società cooperativa''). In 1927, the Verband Schweizerischer Konsumvereine and the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions founded the ''Genossenschaftliche Zentralbank'' (French: ''Banque Centrale Coopérative''; Italian: ''Banca Centrale Cooperativa''). It became a shares company in 1970, and in 1995 was renamed Bank Coop (''Banque Coop''; ''Banca Coop''). In 1999, the Basler Kantonalbank became the majority shareholder. On May 19, 2017, the institution undertook a comprehensive rebranding and became the Bank Cler (''Banque Cler''; ''Banca Cler'').

Passabene (self-checkout)

Coop was one of the first self-checkout providers in Switzerland, introducing its own system called Passabene in 2005. It is in use in 80 stores. Coop uses the MC17T Retail Mobile Computer by

Motorola Solutions Motorola Solutions, Inc. is an American technology, communications, and security company, headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. It is the legal successor of Motorola, Inc., following the spinoff of the mobile phone division into Motorola ...

for this application. They later introduced mobile apps that customers can use to scan items.

Cargo Sous Terrain

Cargo Sous Terrain (CST) is a planned underground logistics system – its first phase in the Mittelland region is scheduled by the early 2030s. As of January 2016, the company's respective association (''Förderverein Cargo sous terrain'') was based at the seat of Coop (''Genossenschaft Basel'') in Basel.

Swissmill

''Swissmill'' operates the largest granary in Switzerland that produces 800 tons of grain daily, representing 30% of the national grain requirements. Its flour is prepared for all bread products produced by the Swiss retailers Coop, Volg, and Landi. Although the Swissmill Tower's exterior and height in Zürich is disputed, the municipal authorities claim that ''the silo is intentionally designed in its aesthetically conscious way. Its external appearance is intended to express its interior – an industrial plant''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Consumers' cooperatives in Switzerland Supermarkets of Switzerland Companies based in Basel Retail companies established in 1890 Retail companies established in 1969 Swiss companies established in 1890 Swiss companies established in 1969 Department stores of Switzerland