In the Philippines, consumer cooperatives emerged during the early 1900s. One of the earliest consumers cooperatives were those of the UP Los Banos and Silliman University. Later on big business corporations and universities put up their consumers cooperatives. Until now most of these cooperatives have been benefited in terms of reasonable process and quality.
Consumers Cooperative Defined
It is voluntary association of a group of persons (at least 15 members), with common bond of interest, who agreed to pool their resources together to provide themselves with quality goods and services at reasonable prices.
There is a big difference in buying form an ordinary store. You get nothing except the goods that you buy. And the price is more often than not higher. But you are a member of a consumer cooperative, the more you buy from the cooperative store, the more patronage refund you get every year.
Functions of Consumers Cooperative 1. Provide quality goods, services, and other needs of the cooperatives members at reasonable prices. 2. Stabilize prices of commodities and services. 3. Provide a direct link between the producers and the consumers. 4. Mobilize savings for capital formation. 5. Undertake continuous cooperative education.
Services of Consumers Cooperative * Provides a centralized procurement system of quality goods and other needs of the members. * Contacts suppliers and/or manufacturers for a direct and regular supply in bulk of consumer goods. * Selects the manufacturers/suppliers that offer the best items in terms of prices and quality. * Sees to it that members/consumers get the services/goods that are comparable if not better than those available in other stores. * Serves as a training ground for group action, group responsibility, and democratic leadership. * Informs its members and the community of the current prices of goods. * Makes available basic consumers items and