Southern Co-operative

Southern Co-op (originally Portsea Island Mutual Co-operative Society Ltd, now officially The Southern Co-operative Limited) is a regional consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. The principal activities of the Society are food retailing, funeral homes, and cafes. It operates more than 300 convenience stores, funeral homes, and Starbucks coffee shops across the southern English counties of Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, London, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, and Wiltshire. Southern Co-op Society is owned by over 170,000 members who share in the business's profits and democratically control its operations. It was previously registered as an Industrial and Provident Society, but its status is now as a mutual society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.

The business of Southern Co-op includes burial grounds in West Sussex, Dorset, and Cheshire, and a crematorium in Hampshire and Devon. Additionally, Southern Co-op supports franchisee stores that are members of Southern's Welcome convenience brand.

51,562 new Members joined Southern Co-op during 2023 - 24

History
Southern Co-op was formed in 1873 by dockyard workers who had transferred from Woolwich docks in east London to the Portsmouth dockyard. The workers had previously set up a successful Co-operative Society in Woolwich. When they arrived in Portsmouth, they decided to replicate a similar set-up there.

In December 1872, 30 people attended a public meeting and unanimously agreed to pay one shilling (12 old pence) for the establishment of a local Co-operative. After five months, the Portsea Island Mutual Co-operative Society's first shop opened in Charles Street on 9 May 1873.

The head office was previously located at Fareham in Hampshire until July 2011, when it moved to 1000 Lakeside, a business park in North Harbour, Portsmouth.

In 2023, it marked its 150th anniversary with a special logo.

Operations


Registered in England and Wales under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, Southern is a member of Co-operatives UK, the Co-operative Retail Trading Group and a corporate member of The Co-operative Group.

Grocery retail
Southern Co-op operates around 200 Co-op branded convenience stores, covering Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, Berkshire, Somerset, Surrey, Devon, Bristol, Kent and parts of Dorset and Wiltshire.

Franchising & foodservice
Southern Co-op owns the 'Welcome' convenience store franchise,with 72 Stores open at the end of 2023. During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, 7 new stores opened in Westhoughton, Dewsbury, Bournemouth, Ripon, Wakefield, Tower Bridge and Wirral.

Cobra Coffee, a Southern Co-op subsidiary, is one of the largest Starbucks franchisees in the UK and grew from 63 to 71 stores in the 2023-2024 fiscal year under license from Starbucks across the south of England.

Funerals/end of life planning
Southern Co-op operated 59 funeral homes across the south of England, closing one in 2023. Additionally, they operate 4 burial grounds and 2 crematoriums.