Selling goods and ideals: How and why did people choose to work and shop at cooperative central stores? c.1880-1950

The cooperative movement in nineteenth-century Britain developed in response to the immiseration of the industrial working classes. The aim of the movement was to secure the financial and moral betterment of its members, and cooperative associations had an educative as well as economic purpose: if cooperating was a skill, cooperation was seen as a virtue. In their stores, cooperative societies initially sold everyday goods, but gradually extended the range of their stock. By close of the nineteenth century, many were building large Central Stores which sold a wide range of goods, often in buildings that resembled department stores. Those in big cities were built at a monumental scale and were lavishly appointed inside. At the same time, Central Stores were key instruments in promoting the virtues of cooperation, self-help and mutuality.

This project explores the ways in which cooperative Central Stores fulfilled this dual role through their built structure, the facilities they provided, and their use by and relationship with shoppers, co-operators and workers. How and why did people choose to work and shop at cooperative central stores?

Three broad areas will be examined.

First, the development of the central stores themselves, explored through a small number of key examples drawn from large cities and smaller towns. Research here will focus on the buildings themselves (their architecture, design, facilities, window displays, etc.), the nature of facilities provided (especially those for education), the range of goods sold, forms of advertising used, and the price of goods. Their character and operation will be set alongside that of department stores, but also the growing array of institutions and facilities provided by other organisations in the city, including local authorities. In what ways did Central Stores compete with or complement department stores, local authorities, etc.?

Second, these developments are examined in the light of cooperative principles and values, as revealed in the writings of leading figures in the movement, but also in the discussions taking place at a local level, amongst store managers and local co-operative societies. How did these develop over time, in relation to changing economic circumstances, the material expectations of cooperative members and the perceived need for the kind of education provided by the co-operative movement?

Third, the changing nature of central stores is set alongside the choices and experiences of those shopping and working in these places. The aim is twofold: [1] to uncover the identity and motivations of those using Central Stores as shops and as places of education and organised sociability - did shoppers also use the educational facilities, for instance? [2] to explore the motivations and values of workers and managers – what did these stores mean to them? Overall, this part of the project seeks a better understanding of the ways in which Central Stores related to peoples identities as consumers, citizens and co-operators?

The project will form part of a larger investigation led by Dr Keith Crome that traces the historical transformations in the concept and function of education in the cooperative movement, and which examines the way in which these changes have impacted on the development of the movement. It will complement research into the ideas and ideals of cooperation and their impact on the cultural identity of Manchester and the Northwest being undertaken by the Cooperatives and Democracy Forum (a multi-disciplinary network of academics and researchers from within Man Met) in partnership with the Cooperative College, Manchester. The research will benefit from access to the extensive material held in the Cooperative Archive, which is housed in the Cooperative College. It also links to Prof Jon Stobart’s research into the development of provincial department stores in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.