COOP (Hungary)

COOP is a Hungarian grocery chain with more than 3,000 stores all over the country. They focus on selling Hungarian-made products in their stores. Every day, about 1.5 million people shop at COOP stores.

 History 

 General Consumer and Sales Cooperative 
The history of the company goes back to the 1870s when, on the suggestion of Count Sándor Károlyi, who is considered the father of Hungarian cooperatives, consumer and credit cooperatives were established. Farmer cooperatives, known as "fmsz," quickly formed under the slogan "one village - one cooperative." By 1948, there were 2,439 such cooperatives. Most members came from the poor peasantry, focusing their efforts on supporting their own agricultural work. These cooperatives had few retail shops, and their trade was mainly to meet the production and household needs of their members. Their direct agricultural activities ceased, and they took on roles in goods distribution. On state instructions, they took over shop units from the private sector, mainly operating as general stores in rural areas. By 1957, there were 12,619 shops and sites operating. In 1962, the retail network of the fmsz had more than 14,500 units.

In 1968, the name of the farmer cooperatives changed to General Consumer and Sales Cooperative (abbreviated as ÁFÉSZ). Under this new name, 567 ÁFÉSZs began operations. The name change brought a broader range of activities and more entrepreneurial freedom. They were present in almost every settlement in the country, not only supplying food to the population but also engaging in the purchase and sale of agricultural products, industrial production, and providing various services. There was a process of centralization, establishing a central distribution system based on regional principles. The goal was not competition but achieving the most favorable procurement positions. 

As a result of these developments, by 1975, ÁFÉSZs accounted for 15% of all urban retail trade. In the second half of the decade, commercial indicators continued to grow. Fifteen years after their establishment, their revenue had more than quadrupled, with growth rates significantly exceeding those of state trade. The most significant development was in retail and hospitality. By the end of 1984, out of the country's 153 department stores, 94 were operated by ÁFÉSZ, and out of 988 retail outlets, more than 600 were under this cooperative framework. The cooperatives held a 33% share of retail trade and 36% of the hospitality sector in the country. They achieved the dual objectives of their trade policy: providing high-quality daily goods in every settlement and concentrating durable goods and assortment-demanding industrial products in cities. In 1984, total revenue reached 162.5 billion HUF. From 1985 to 1989, the range of daily goods continuously expanded, with an increasing emphasis on selling more sophisticated clothing and miscellaneous industrial products within cooperative trade.

 From ÁFÉSZ to the COOP system 
The economic transformation following the political changes of 1989 significantly affected the operations of the 260 ÁFÉSZ cooperatives that existed by then. As a result of the sudden liberalization of trade, there was a decline in the traffic of these cooperatives, making it clear that they needed to completely reimagine both their wholesale "backbone" and retail sales to maintain market position and competitiveness. In 1995, the National Council of ÁFÉSZs decided to establish the COOP Retail Chain. By 1997, 1,325 stores from 203 former ÁFÉSZs had joined this network. In that year, they created Co-op Hungary Rt., which operated as the apex body for the economic integration of the ÁFÉSZs. They developed their own regional procurement and distribution system, the Pro-COOP network, with five major regional centers tasked with coordinating procurement and distribution activities. At the beginning of the 2000s, the chain reorganized on a franchise basis, taking inspiration from Swedish and Norwegian international cooperative partners.

Today, the COOP Economic Group, which is entirely Hungarian-owned, has multiplied its turnover tenfold, becoming one of the largest franchise systems on the domestic market. The group includes nearly 700 small and medium-sized enterprises, employing over 30,000 people, making COOP one of Hungary's largest employers in smaller settlements. Starting with 465 stores, the chain now boasts more than 2,500 branded stores and supplies another 2,000. COOP operates outlets in even the smallest villages, often being the only store in many locations.A kormánytól kér támogatást a COOP, hogy ne zárjanak be a boltok - Portfolio.hu, 2019.05.23. Approximately 1.5 million customers visit its stores daily. COOP's primary creed is to maintain high-quality relationships with its customers, which is equally important to its nearly 30,000 employees. More than 80 percent of the products it offers are domestic, making COOP one of the retail chains with the highest proportion of Hungarian products.

 Store types 

 COOP Mini : These are the smallest stores with a small selection. These stores do not benefit from various loyalty point collection promotions. It is usually characterized by basic products (e.g. dairy products).
 COOP ABC : Much larger than Mini, these stores have a relatively large floor space. Most such stores now also sell non-food products.
 COOP Super : This name is given to stores with a larger selection and floor space than ABC. Their offer is very wide.
 COOP Super Plus: Stores with the largest floor space and range. New products appear in these stores first.

References

 Other websites 
 coop.hu
 Facebook page of COOP

Category:Supermarkets of Hungary