A
Co-operative Wholesale Society, or CWS, is a form of
Co-operative Federation (that is, a
Co-operative in which all the members are Co-operatives), in this case, the members are usually
Consumers' Co-operatives. According to Co-operative economist
Charles Gide, the aim of a Co-operative Wholesale Society is to arrange “bulk purchases, and, if possible, organise production.”
[1] In other words, a Co-operative Wholesale Society is a form of Federal Co-operative through which Consumers' Co-operatives can collectively purchase goods at wholesale prices, and in some cases collectively own factories or farms.
The best historical examples of this are the English CWS and the Scottish CWS, which are the predecessors of the 21st century Co-operative Group. Indeed, in Britain, the terms Co-operative Wholesale Society or CWS are used to refer to this specific organisation rather than the organisational form. However, it is worth noting that the English CWS has inspired many imitations around the world (including, for example, the New South Wales Co-operative Wholesale Society who have also described themselves as Co-operative Wholesale Societies or 'CWS'.
Co-operative Wholesale Societies have been advocated by Co-operative Federalism, which is the school of thought in Co-operative economics favouring Consumer Co-operative societies. The Co-operative Federalists have argued that Consumers' Co-operatives should form Co-operative Wholesale Societies and that, through such arrangements, they should undertake purchasing farms or factories. They argued that profits (or surpluses) from these CWSes should be paid as dividends to the member Co-operatives, rather than to their workers.[3]
