Consumer Cooperative Store
A consumer cooperative store is an organization owned, managed and controlled by consumers themselves. The consumers join together and manage the business and the profit thus earned is retained among themselves in the proportion of their contribution. The objective of such stores is to reduce the number of middlemen who increase the cost of produce, and thereby provide service to the members. The cooperative stores generally buy in large quantity, directly from manufacturers or wholesalers and sell them to the consumers at reasonable prices.
Advantages
The major advantages of a consumer cooperative store are as follows:
(i) Ease information: It is easy to form a consumer cooperative society. Any 10 people can come together to form a voluntary association and get themselves registered with the Registrar of Cooperative Societies by completing certain formalities.
(ii) Limited liability: The liability of the members in a cooperative store is limited to the extent of the capital contributed by them. Over and above that amount, they are not liable personally to pay for the debts of society, in case the liabilities are greater than its assets.
(iii) Democratic management: Cooperative societies are democratically managed through management committees which are elected by the members.
(iv) Lower prices: A cooperative store purchases goods directly from the manufacturers or wholesalers and sells them to members and others.
(v) Cash sales: The consumer cooperative stores normally sell goods on cash basis. As a result, the requirement for working capital is reduced.
