The Manx Co-op is 100 years old. The much-loved local retailer - which has been a part of life in the island for longer than any of us can remember - celebrates the landmark birthday today (Tuesday).

Co-op area operations manager Andy Corrie, a proud Manxman, says: ’We are a Manx business that has served the people of the Isle of Man for 100 years and we are looking forward to the next 100 years.’

How it all began

The island’s longest-established grocery retailer first opened its doors in Duke Street, Douglas on July 7, 1920 following the formation of the Manx Co-operative Society earlier that year.

On May 22, 1920, the Isle of Man Examiner had reported that: ’The Provisional Committee [of the Society] have purchased a shop in Douglas which will be opened soon under Competent Management.

’It is proposed to open shops in other towns in due course. The Shares are £1 each issued at par. Subscription list is now open.’

In November that year their Ramsey store had opened. The Society by this time had a membership of 630 and a share capital of £1,980 and was proposing to open a store in Port St Mary.

By 1922 it had also taken over an established grocery business in Peel. But the Society was struggling and was ’losing money at a rate of £30 per week’ until it came under the auspices of the Liverpool Co-operative Society, at which point its fortunes appeared to have been turned around.

By 1928 the Manx Co-op’s annual sales went from £8,000 per annum to more than £41,000.

Why the co-operative movement was important

The new world that emerged in 1920 was very different from the cosy, deferential Edwardian era that had preceded it.

We may think of the 1920s as ’The Jazz Age’, an era of partying and Bright Young Things but the reality for most people was very different.

This was a world that had just come through the First World War and the Spanish Flu epidemic; ordinary people remembered the sacrifices of the First World War and wanted the peacetime economy to see a more equal distribution of wealth.

The growth of the co-operative movement chimed perfectly with this: the idea that they existed to benefit and create value for their members, the ordinary people, rather than the profits being hoarded by the already-wealthy echoed the sentiments of the time.

One commentator in the Isle of Man press in 1928 wrote that the Manx Co-op was ’proving to be the workers’ friend in more ways than one: it has and is being a boon and a blessing’.

Another described it as ’a great and peaceful economic struggle, having for its object the reversal of the present order in the industrial world, by enabling the workers to accumulate and control capital instead of being controlled by capital.’

And don’t forget that, while in the UK women were celebrating gaining the vote in 1918, women had equal voting rights at the Co-op since it was first founded (its history dating back to 1844), and most women householders on the Isle of Man had been flexing their voting muscles since the 1880s, with leaseholders and others following later.

During WWI, many Manx women had been doing the jobs of men who were called to fight but then had to relinquish those jobs when the men returned.

Life had taught them to be resilient and resourceful and, because for most of them their major role was once again running the household on a single wage, they necessarily had a keen eye for seeking out good food at the best price.

Returning soldiers had been promised a ’land fit for heroes’ but Britain was still a place where people went hungry and those in charge of the household budget were careful with what they spent.

When, in 1930, the Manx Co-op immediately responded to a drop in the wholesale price of flour by lowering the price of ’a 4lb loaf’ from 81/2d to 8d, it was widely reported in the Manx press.

Bread in those days was even more of a staple food than it is today and this gesture of support for its shoppers, given that this was the year of the Great Depression, would have been very well received.

Another important element of the success of the Manx Co-op was its understanding of the local economy.

Visitor numbers had dropped from the heady days of 1913 when more than 650,000 people arrived in the island for their holiday, but tourism was still the industry that many islanders depended on for their livelihood.

In February 1929, the front page of the Manx Star carried reports on the Municipal Trades Fair at which the Co-op was an exhibitor.

The report read: ’And now let us go to Stands 11 and 12 to see what the Manx Co-operative Society are doing to bring the cost of living down. ’Spend and Save’ is the motto of this concern.

’Every variety of canned goods is displayed; fruits, vegetables are available in covered glass receptacles for free sampling; there are jams, biscuits, cooked meats, cheeses, pickles, sauces; tea and coffee are given prominence and all C.W.S products of guaranteed quality are sold at prices which appeal to everyone.’

Importantly, it then goes on to say: ’The Manx Co-operative Society are making a speciality of catering for the boarding house trade, and at their stand is an office giving facilities for placing one’s order in private. And there is a dividend with every purchase.’

The Manx Co-op was already a notable supporter of local good causes. In 1929 it was reported to have made a donation to the June Effort to hold events to encourage tourists to come earlier in the season to the island and in 1930 it was reported to have donated the grand sum of £105 to the Noble’s Hospital Extension Fund.

The island’s first supermarket ’experiment’

Moving on a few decades to the 1950s, it appears that the Manx Co-op was the first retail grocer to introduce supermarket-style shopping here when they converted their Prospect Terrace store to self-service.

The Co-op in the UK had been trialling self-service in some of its stores since as far back as 1943 and it had proved very successful but this was the first time this ’experiment’ had been tried in the island.

The report in Mona’s Herald in November 1954 now sounds almost comical. It read: ’This new method has many advantages over the normal counter service.

’On entering the shop, the customer is provided with a basket or similar receptacle and proceeds round the shop choosing the commodities she requires from the special gondolas and wall fittings displaying the goods.

’On completing this pleasant task, the customer moves to the checkout counter when the cashier totals the goods on an adding machine, accepts payment and the customer passes out through the barrier.

’The shop is smart, congenial and hygienic, customers’ shopping time is greatly reduced and the problem of congestion even in peak periods is solved; sales per employee are increased because customers serve themselves and employees are relieved of much monotonous physical work.

’The Co-op are confident that the new venture will be welcomed by the trading customers in the Prospect Terrace Area.’

The present day and

the next 100 years

But it’s not all about the past. Andy Corrie says: ’Over the last four or five years we have reinvested over £3million into a refit programme for our stores and we are always on the lookout for more stores to expand and get closer to our members and customers.’

This expansion will see a brand new, purpose-built store open in Crosby in the autumn, its 11th in the island, representing an investment of nearly £650,000. The opening of the Crosby store will also create 20 new local jobs.

The store will include customer car parking, a bakery and a focus on fresh healthy products, meal ideas, award winning wines, food-to-go, a free-from and vegan range - including its own exclusive vegan brand Gro - and everyday essentials.

Like all Co-op stores in Britain, Manx Co-op stores are run to benefit and create value for its members and customers, committed to making a difference in communities.

They all bring a funding boost locally through the Co-op membership scheme which sees members receive a five percent reward when purchasing own-brand products and through the Co-op donating a further one percent to local causes.

During lockdown, the Manx Co-op in Ramsey pioneered a new online shopping service which is in the process of being expanded in the island, starting with the new Crosby store.

The retailer continues to innovate and the new online service offers same day, on-demand home delivery convenience and a click-and-collect service to make shopping quicker and easier from its own online shop www.coop.co.uk/shop

Andy Corrie explains: ’This is an exciting time as we mark 100 years since our first store opened here in the Isle of Man.

’In 2020 we have seen the launch of an online service for the first time and we have a new store opening later in the year - Co-op has a proud past and a very exciting future.’

Supporting the community and the members

We all have our favourite local Co-op store in the island and most of us will know at least one of the members of staff there by name. It’s what makes shopping at the Co-op a very different experience from that in larger supermarkets.

Andy Corrie says: ’In a world where that opportunity for personal engagement is shrinking, the Co-op is like a beacon of light and I work to retain that - all of my colleagues understand that the most important part of the job is looking after the customer.’

And the customers’ experience of this personal engagement and support was demonstrated loud and clear in several of the community ’shout outs’ Isle of Man Newspapers have been running through the pandemic.

One of them said: ’I want to nominate Onchan Co-op. Their staff are always friendly and really helpful. They are always smiling and I always receive great customer service from them all the time.’

Derek Furnival, Co-op Group’s divisional managing director, said: ’Co-operative’s play an important role in the social and economic fabric of our communities, and their very existence is to create value for their members and communities.

’Throughout the recent coronavirus crisis, Co-op colleagues continually demonstrated compassion and support for their communities, their response based on Co-op’s underlying values and principles.

’I am incredibly proud of the lengths they went to in order to keep spirits high, shelves stocked, and communities fed - they really are local heroes.’

At the heart of the community support is its membership scheme. Each of its 25,000 members receives a five per cent reward every time they purchase own-brand goods and services, with the Co-op donating a further one percent to local causes.

Since 2016, this Local Community Fund has benefitted 48 local charities and community organisations in the Isle of Man to the tune of £300,000.

During this year so far, more than £32,000 has been shared among six local causes: the Isle of Man Live at Home Scheme; QEII High School; Manx Wildlife Trust; Craig’s Heartstrong; The Children’s Centre and, the Manx Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital.

Manx Co-op has also created two new ’Member Pioneer’ roles with a focus on finding new ways to co-operate and make a real difference in communities across the island and, working with local causes supported by the Manx Co-op.

Eve Adams has been appointed Member Pioneer for Co-op stores in Duke Street, Castletown, Onchan, Port Erin, Port St. Mary and Woodbourne Road, while Penny Hardman will be the Member Pioneer for Laxey, Peel and its two stores in Ramsey, working to connect communities and bring people together.

Support for local

farmers and producers

The Manx Co-op supports Manx farmers and producers by stocking products from Isle of Man Creamery (itself a farmers’ co-operative) and Ramsey Bakery, which uses only Manx- grown and milled flour.

Manx Co-op takes milk from Isle of Man Creamery, produced by largely grass-fed cows, as well as their butter and cheese.

It sells loaves and a wide range produced by Ramsey Bakery, made using grain grown by Manx farmers, milled at Laxey Glen Mills.

They supply a wide range of products including large and small loaves, baps and buns, more than 450,000 products in all across the Co-op stores in the island. Manx Co-op also stocks IOM Meats products.