In 1843, a group of working men met in Rochdale to discuss the challenges posed by the cost of living. Many ideas were shared, including a proposal from Charles Howarth to establish a co-operative store. Howarth admitted that earlier ventures of this sort had not fared well, but he assured the others that his vision was different.

Howarth invited the other members to identify the reasons why other such ventures had failed. Some blamed generous credit, and he promised no credit would be allowed. Others reminded him that all too frequently, subscribers did not do their shopping at the stores they set up. Howarth promised an answer to that objection too.

Howarth’s idea was that subscribers would receive a share of the store’s profits in proportion to the amount of custom they brought during the year, thus rewarding loyalty with hard cash. Once the idea had sunk in, the other members rose enthusiastically to approve it, and the first co-operative store came a step nearer to reality.

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