Unicorn Grocery
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Unicorn Grocery is a
co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...
grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...
located in
Chorlton-cum-Hardy Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the Manchester city centre, city centre. Chorlton (ward), Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, and Chorlton Park (w ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, England. As a workers co-op, it is controlled democratically by its members/owners, who run the business with a flat management structure and with an equal rate of pay. Ethics form the foundations of the business, and Unicorn's Principles of Purpose are the framework within which the business operates. Unicorn is closely connected to local sister company Glebelands City Growers in Sale and owns of peri-urban growing land at Glazebury,
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
. It sells fresh, dried and processed food and drink, much of it
organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
and with a focus on
local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
and
Fairtrade A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement of fair trade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa ...
sourcing, as well as household, bodycare and general grocery items. Keeping prices in line with the supermarkets, Unicorn is one of the largest independent wholefood groceries in the UK and has an annual turnover of around £7 million. In 2017, it won the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
Food & Farming Awards 'Best Food Retailer'. During 2008 it won two national awards, named
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
's 'Best Local Food Retailer' and
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
Food Monthly's 'Best Independent Retailer'.


Business model and structure

Unicorn is based on a model devised by Roger Sawtell, former chair of the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM), a
co-operative federation A cooperative federation or secondary cooperative is a cooperative in which all members are, in turn, cooperatives. Historically, cooperative federations have predominantly come in the form of Co-operative wholesale society, cooperative wholesale s ...
that now forms part of
Co-operatives UK Co-operatives UK is a British co-operative federation described as "the central membership organisation for co-operative enterprise throughout the UK". It was founded in 1870 as the Co-operative Central Board, changing its name to the Co-oper ...
. Roger has written at length on co-operative structure and employee participation and his model was first put into practice at Daily Bread Co-operative, a workers co-op in
Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
(now with a sister branch in Cambridge) . The idea to set up a similar company in Manchester came about in 1994, based on the experiences of Adam York, who had worked in the Northampton shop. The model revolves around direct, often
bulk purchasing Bulk purchasing or mass buying is the purchase of much larger quantities than the usual, for a unit price that is lower than the usual. Wholesaling is selling goods in large quantities at a low unit price to retail merchants. The wholesaler will a ...
(directly from manufacturers where possible rather than distributors), on-site processing to add value, and competitive margins and pricing, matching supermarket prices. Unicorn is based on the core principles of co-operative organisation,'Statement on the Co operative identity' in that is that the business is owned and democratically run by its employees (the membership of the co-op), and they are the people who receive profits or other benefits generated by the business. There are no outside shareholders, executives or owners. The co-op is almost completely 'fully mutual', i.e. all staff are members of the co-operative. The exception being that between 5 and 10% of hours needed can be performed by 'casual' staff. Experiments with a third level of non-member 'shop assistants' proved unsuitable for the co-op.


Unicorn today

The business occupies a site (including large storage and office space), has a turnover of around £7 million, and employs around 65 co-op members plus casual staff. It sells unpackaged organic fruit and vegetables, basic dried ingredients, prepared foods, chilled and delicatessen goods, organic bread and alcohol and
environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...
body and household products. All are sourced with the shop's principles in mind, with a focus on local, organic and fair-trade. As well as groceries, the shop provides a kids play area, information about the products and what to do with them, and a '
Green Roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...
'. In 2007 Unicorn members became land owners, purchasing of growing land from the shop in Glazebury, Cheshire, once again using loanstock to finance the purchase. Designed to improve and secure the shops's regional fresh supply, the land will be used to grow vegetables organically, for sale in the shop, cutting
food miles Food miles is the distance food is transported from the time of its making until it reaches the consumer. Food miles are one factor used when testing the environmental impact of food, such as the carbon footprint of the food. The concept of ...
significantly.


History

From an original working group of two people, the shop opened on 21 September 1996 with a working group of four members plus volunteers. Financial support and advice came from sources including the Industrial Common Ownership Finance Ltd (ICOF) Co-op Finance Team, a
Triodos Bank Triodos Bank N.V. is an ethical bank based in the Netherlands with branches in Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, and Spain. It was founded in 1980. History The name Triodos is derived from the Greek "τρὶ- (tri, three) and ὁδος (hod ...
loan and loanstock (a form of fixed term bond raised from supporters and potential customers). Turnover began at £4000 per year and reached £4 million by 2007. This was matched by growth in staff, reaching 51 by 2007. Having rented the site for 7 years, Unicorn faced closure in 2003 when owners 'Town and Country' decided to sell the site. Using £100,000 of loanstock bonds raised in a weekhttp://www.socialenterprisemag.co.uk/sem/management/detail/index.asp?id=29&npage=1&category=21 a mortgage from Triodos bank, and additional funding from ICOF, Co-operative Action and Triodos Bank's Inspiring Change Scheme Unicorn raised the £1 million needed and bought the building. Growth has necessitated organisational changes within the co-op, the most significant being the creation of a 'representative structure', a departure from all members attending the fortnightly members decision-making meetings. After the group swelled beyond 15 people, members divided into teams, and individual co-op members are now represented by 'team overviews' at fortnightly 'forum' meetings.


Principles

Unicorn operate within a set of guidelines, known as its 'Statement of Purpose':Principles of Purpose http://www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk/principles.php *Secure Employment. The company aims to provide secure employment for its members. *Equal Opportunity. The company aims to reserve some employment for members with a learning disability. *Wholesome Healthy Consumption. The company aims to trade in wholesome foodstuffs and household goods of non-animal origin. It trades in foodstuffs which have undergone minimal processing. Product guidelines include the avoidance of added sugar, salt and animal derivatives. *Fair and Sustainable Trade. The company aims to trade in a manner which supports a sustainable world environment and economy. It trades preferentially in products which follow the " Fair Trade" ethos. *Solidarity in Co-operation. The company aims to support like minded ventures, co-operatives or otherwise. It seeks to encourage co-operation by operating a fund to support projects which share its vision of community and society in the United Kingdom. 1% of the wage costs are contributed to this fund.


See also

*
List of food cooperatives The following is a list of food cooperative grocery stores and buyers groups, current and defunct. Many of the second-wave food cooperatives formed in the 1960s and 1970s started as buying clubs. This list is not exhaustive, and is limited to n ...


References


External links


Unicorn Grocery Coop website Glebelandscitygrowers.co
{{coord, 53, 26, 44.58, N, 2, 16, 36.22, W, region:GB, display=title Food cooperatives in the United Kingdom Worker co-operatives of the United Kingdom Food and drink companies based in Manchester Retail companies of England British companies established in 1996 Food and drink companies established in 1996 Retail companies established in 1996 1996 establishments in England