Konsum () is 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 ...

retail chain founded in 1945 by the Soviet Military Administration in occupied

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. It consisted of grocery stores, retail markets, industrial plants, and restaurants, and was a direct competitor to the

Handelsorganisation The Handelsorganisation (“Trading Organisation”, or HO) was a national retail business owned by the central administration of the Soviet Zone of occupation in Germany and from 1949 on by the state of the German Democratic Republic. It was crea ...

.Burchard Bösche, Jan-Frederik Korf: ''Chronik der deutschen Konsumgenossenschaften. 150 Jahre Konsumgenossenschaften in Deutschland. 100 Jahre Zentralverband deutscher Konsumgenossenschaften e. V.'' Hamburg 2003. After

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in 1990, Konsum was not dissolved, as it was not a state-owned enterprise like Handelsorganisation. Today, it exists in limited capacity, mostly as a real estate management cooperative.

References

Organisations based in East Germany East Germany–Soviet Union relations Retail companies of the Soviet Union 1945 establishments in Germany Conglomerate companies established in 1945 Companies of East Germany German companies established in 1945 Retail companies established in 1945 {{Germany-company-stub