|
Unicorn Grocery is a co-operative grocery store located in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England. As a workers co-op, it is controlled democratically by its member/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. It sells fresh, dried and processed food and drink, much of it organic and with a focus on local and Fairtrade 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 £5 million. During 2008 it won two national awards, named BBC Radio's 'Best Local Food Retailer'〔http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodawards2008.shtml〕 and The Observer Food Monthly's 'Best Independent Retailer' == Business model and structure == Unicorn is based on a model〔Sawtell, R. 'Blueprint for 50 Co-ops'. Available at http://www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk/pdfs/Blueprint%20for%2050%20Co-ops%20(2006).pdf〕 devised by Roger Sawtell, former chair of the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM), a co-operative federation that now forms part of Co-operatives UK.〔'Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM)' http://www.cooperatives-uk.coop/live/cme2021.htm〕 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 (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 (directly from manufacturers where possible rather than distributors), on-site processing to add value, and competitive margins and pricing, matching supermarket prices.〔Food Prices Comparison http://www.eggbutnobacon.co.uk/2008/11/food-price-calculator/〕 Unicorn is based on the core principles of co-operative organisation,〔'Statement on the Co operative identity' http://www.ica.coop/coop/principles.html〕 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Unicorn Grocery」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|