Following the success of the Rochdale Pioneers, co-op shops began to develop everywhere, taking business away from the previously successful private traders. It became increasingly difficult for the co-ops to source the quality of products they wanted to be able to offer their members as the private traders tried to sabotage their efforts.

The co-operators were determined not to be defeated and decided it was time they were able to source their own products so they could guarantee their quality. As a result, the Society that was to become known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) and latterly the Co-operative Group, was set up by co-op retailers in 1863 to provide products they could rely on. The Society began to manufacture products for sale in co-op stores, developed the Co-op brand, and founded the country's only co-operative insurer - CIS - as well as The Co-operative Bank.

By the end of the nineteenth century there were well over 1,000 retail co-operative societies in the UK, whereas today, as a result of mergers, there are less than 50.

For more information on the Co-operative Group, go to www.co-op.co.uk. There you will also be able to find out more about The Co-operative Bank and CIS.