Co-operative Retail Services (Northern Region)

The Co-operative Retail Services or CRS (Northern Region) along with the London and South East, Midland and South West regional branches began life in 1934 under the original title of the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) Retail Society. It had two main purposes: firstly, either to assist struggling local retail societies or to take over those societies which had no future as independent units and no opportunity to amalgamate with a stronger neighbour, and, secondly, to further the development of co-operative trading in areas in which co-operative societies were not yet represented. Its formation was greeted with hostility by many members, who believed that the retail and wholesale operations of the Co-operative Movement as a whole should remain discrete and that joining the CWS Retail Society would entail the sacrificing of the Movement's central principle of democratic control by members. However, the Cardiff society was the first branch to transfer in 1936, marking the start of a slow but steady growth. The name was changed to the Co-operative Retail Services (CRS) in 1957. Its main business centres upon its extensive food retailing, non-food retailing (namely, the provision of household goods through its chain of department stores) and its provision of other services, eg travel shops, funeral services, financial and insurance services.

As the CRS grew, trading conditions became freer and the expansion of existing business and entry into new fields became possible. Not only failing or struggling societies applied to join; in addition, numerous societies which were successful in trade and membership, but which lacked capital to take advantage of the burgeoning post-war consumer market, sought to join the CRS as a springboard for future expansion. The CRS, however, remained unpopular and continued to attract considerable suspicion. A report of the Co-operative Registrar in 1988 questioned the status of the CRS as a bona fide co-operative society, with the result that the CWS and the CRS split from each other. During the 1990s, the CWS (which had more or less become a retailer by default) in fact overtook the CRS as the Co-operative's biggest retailer. The CRS, though large, began to run into operational difficulties. Finding it necessary itself to merge, and needing to do so with a similarly large society, it merged with the CWS in 2000, establishing for the first time a properly hybrid Co-operative and inaugurating a significant culture shift in the organisation. The CWS changed its name to the Co-operative Group (CWS) Ltd in 2001.

References:

From the guide to the Co-operative Retail Services (Northern Region), 1856- 4 Jul 1996, (National Co-operative Archive)