Submitted 9 hours ago by null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com to australia@aussie.zone
Most small rural towns in Western Australia have a Co-op store.
I’m a bit sketchy on the details but my understanding is that they’re not-for-profit’s, they charge a mark up on the things they sell, but really just enough to pay wages for employees. Any left over money is distributed to the people who buy things.
Why do these only exist in small towns and why aren’t they a thing in larger towns and cities?
It would be amazing to only pay cost plus wages for your groceries.
In the US, I see co-ops in big cities more often than anywhere else.
If I had to guess, part of it would be that many staple groceries are actually sold below cost by the majors as loss leaders to get people in the doors. They can also force suppliers, with their larger buying power, to sell them things for cheaper. A good example of all this is milk.
Not necessarily selling below cost. They can save money in all sorts of ways:
These are all really good examples of what large grocers can do to maximise profits, but it doesn’t really answer my question.
A large not-for-profit could leverage most of these advantages. Multiple stores in multiple cities certainly could.
IGA stores are all independently owned but have a combined distribution network.
They wouldn’t have to achieve the same volume that colesworth does because… they don’t need any profit.
Western Canadian cities (pops of about 1mil) still have co-ops.
Not really an answer, just another data point for you.
“Economics” is the answer in one way. And in another since large companies lobby for laws that help them and hurt progress.
dumblederp@aussie.zone 2 minutes ago
Friends of the Earth on Smith Street Collingwood, Melbourne. Has been there for ages. It’s a co-op.