federal retail and trading services limited type co operative federation industry wholesale founded 2015 1993 as crtg headquarters one angel square manchester united kingdom products groceries parent managed by the co operative group website www.crtg.coop the co operative federal retail and trading services is the central buying group for co operative retail societies in the united kingdom . it came into its current structure in 2015 though its predecessor was established in 1993 and it supplies almost all food bought for sale by the over 4 000 co operative foodstores in the uk . 1 the buying group is owned and controlled by each of its member societies but is managed by the co operative group on their behalf . 2 it operates by pooling the collective 8.5 bn buying power for 18 co operative societies in the uk allowing them to negotiate better prices from suppliers so as to compete effectively with other uk supermarket chains . 3 federal retail and trading services is a member of the ethical trading initiative eti . 4 contents 1 co operative retail trading group 2 consortium of independent co operatives 3 see also 4 references 5 external links co operative retail trading group edit the co operative retail trading group crtg was established in 1993 by the co operative wholesale society to centralise buying power for retail co operatives in the uk . by 2002 it had become the central buying group for the all of the major food retailing co operatives after being joined by the last two independent societies . 5 the crtg lost its complete control over the food co op sector in 2014 however after the clydebank co operative society left the buying group . 6 after the financial crisis in the co operative group it was decided that the group should no longer be responsible for the central buying group the crtg as if it had have collapsed it could have led to the collapse of the independent co operative societies as they would have had major difficulties in sourcing produce . citation needed the new buying group federal retail and trading services was established in 2015 and differs from its predecessor most notably in that each member co operative has equal control over the business 7 whereas previously control was proportional to total amount purchased giving the co operative group dominant control . although each member now has an equal voice frts continues to be managed by the co operative group . consortium of independent co operatives edit prior to 1998 the crtg faced competition within the retail co operative movement from another grocery buying group the consortium of independent co operatives cic which was led by co operative retail services until its merger with the co operative wholesale society . several of the larger regional co operatives of the time were members of cic portsea scotmid united and yorkshire . in 1998 the cic supplied 1 billion of goods annually and the crtg 2.5 billion . 8 see also edit co operative travel trading group references edit voinea anca 11 mar 2015 . group moves from crtg to federal trading services . co operative news . retrieved 1 jul 2015 . consumer co operatives are forming a successor to the co operative retail trading group . the new buying group federal trading services will be collectively owned by independent retail societies and the co operative group which are currently part of crtg . glossary archived from the original on 6 apr 2008 retrieved 28 nov 2009 http www.co operative.coop corporate pdfs annual report 2015 co op annual results 2015.pdf heart of england co operative society february 2007 annual report & financial statements for the period ended 20th january 2007 pdf heart of england co operative society p. 13 archived from the original pdf on 2 september 2011 retrieved 19 november 2007 about us 2007 retrieved 19 november 2007 kidd marie claire 24 feb 2014 . clydebank co op withdraws from national co operative buying group . co operative news . retrieved 1 jul 2015 . clydebank co operative is entering a supply agreement with glasgow based wholesaler jw filshill bringing to an end its 10 year arrangement with the co operative retail trading group crtg . it is the first co op to withdraw from the co operative movement s buying group which previously controlled 100 % of co op food buying in the uk . voinea anca 21 may 2015 . how co operatives can fight back over falling sales . co operative news . retrieved 1 jul 2015 . retail co operatives are in the process of moving from the co operative retail trading group crtg to federal retail trading services frts a new buying group designed to put independent societies like midcounties on a level playing field with the co operative group . ... nigel cope 17 sep 1998 . collapse of buying group adds to pressure for co op merger . the independent . retrieved 4 dec 2009 . external links edit co operative retail trading group v t e the co operative group retail the co operative food the co operative travel 30 % holding the co operative funeralcare the co operative bank 20 % holding smile the co operative insurance co operative legal services the co operative electrical wholesale federal and retail trading services former crtg the co operative brand people richard pennycook chief executive allan leighton chair headquarters cis tower 1 angel square at noma manchester former the co operative banking group former cfs britannia the co operative pharmacy co operative travel trading group the co operative motor group the co operative farms associated co operative creameries co operative retail services retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title co operative federal trading services & oldid 738784424 categories cooperativespurchasing consortiaconsortia in the united kingdom1993 establishments in the united kingdomorganizations established in 1993the co operative grouphidden categories use dmy dates from may 2014use british english from may 2014all articles with unsourced 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