Co-operative wholesale society

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A co-operative wholesale society, or CWS, is a form of co-operative federation (that is, a co-operative in which all the members are co-operatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives.

The theory, practice and history of the CWS in the pioneering British Co-operative Movement was recorded and expounded by Beatrice Potter in 1891^[1], revised by Carr-Saunders et al. in 1938,^[2] to document its economic, social and political dimensions. According to co-operative economist Charles Gide, the aim of a co-operative wholesale society is to arrange “bulk purchases, and, if possible, organise production.”^[3] In other words, a co-operative wholesale society is a form of federal co-operative through which consumers co-operatives can collectively purchase goods at wholesale prices, and in some cases collectively own factories or farms.

The best historical examples of this are the English CWS and the Scottish SCWS, which are the predecessors of the 21st century Co-operative Group. Indeed, in Britain, the terms Co-operative Wholesale Society and CWS are used to refer to this specific organisation rather than the organisational form. However, the English CWS has inspired many imitations around the world (including, for example, the New South Wales Co-operative Wholesale Society that have also described themselves as co-operative wholesale societies.