Chelmsford Star Industrial Co-operative Society was set up in Essex by iron foundry workers in 1867, with the aim of becoming ‘the Star of the County’. It’s been a much-loved fixture in the county and an established heritage brand – and last month it entered a new chapter when it officially joined Central Co-op.
“This is about two strong, independent co-operative societies coming together to create a successful and more resilient society for the future,” says Central CEO, Debbie Robinson. “It’s about respecting the heritage and recognising the things that are important to members, colleagues and customers, and making sure we carry those forward into the future.”
Chelmsford Star is the oldest UK society still trading under its original name; Radstock, the second oldest was founded a year later. But despite its status in the county, it has faced financial strain in recent decades, most notably from its loss-making Quadrant department stores in Chelmsford and Braintree, which had not turned a profit since 2008.
Although there were efforts to diversify and modernise, the stores were hit hard by declining footfall, the loss of concession brands, Covid-19 and the rise of online retail. The society also faced broader pressures from inflation, rising energy costs, and changing consumer behaviour, which left it reporting significant losses in several of its most recent trading years. In May, well before the transfer, Chelmsford Star’s board approved a proposal to permanently shut the doors of both Quadrant stores in October 2025.
“After Chelmsford Star approached us, Elaine Dean [Central president] and I met with their board, and I gave a full presentation, which they put to the members,” says Robinson. “It’s been a full democratic process, which has included two member votes.”
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The first vote, on 16 July, saw 316 members vote 95% in favour of the transfer, comfortably passing the two-thirds majority required by the society’s rules. The second vote – which required a simple majority – saw voting of 200 to one in favour.
“And I think that just proves the commitment of members to Chelmsford Star Co-op, both its heritage and the longevity.”
On Monday, 15 September, there was a formal transfer of engagement, and Chelmsford Star as a legal entity transferred to Central. But it won’t disappear.
“There is a real alignment of cultures here,” Robinson says. “Maintaining the heritage was always important, but to be honest, we wanted to go that little bit further and honour the branding. So it will be ‘Chelmsford Star Co-op, founded in 1867, part of Central Co-op’. It was also a really nice fit that both our societies had already adopted the ICA Co-op Marque as part of our identities.”
Member benefits and community support, including the Chelmsford Star Community Fund, Pride of Essex Awards and support for the Chelmsford Co-op Party, will also be preserved. As will its partnerships with local Essex producers, with a view to potentially extending these to the wider Central estate.
It won’t have a separate board, but current Chelmsford Star directors have been invited to join Central’s Eastern membership and community council (MCC) “so the Essex voice remains strong and we build on the great work that’s already been done”.
“We’re already in Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire,” adds Robinson, “so Essex is a natural extension of that reach. We’re exploring an Essex cluster within the MCC to ensure local decision-making is rooted in Chelmsford.
“I do want to pay respect to their executive team, especially to Barry, who is quite an exceptional co-operator. He joined Chelmsford Star when he was 16 years old, and worked his way to the top of the organisation. Along that journey, he has been at the forefront of technological innovation – he was the first to introduce the chip and pin technology to a society membership card. And they’ve been so progressive around their member and community events and classes, which, as you know, is really important to us at Central too.”
There was also an alignment of culture in terms of co-op development activity, she adds. Like Central’s work supporting co-operative producers in Malawi through Our Malawi Partnership, Chelmsford Star has a long-standing partnership with co-operatives in Lesotho, the small, high-altitude country within South Africa.
“Malawi and Lesotho are close together in terms of sub-Saharan Africa, so there may be some partnering we can do there to further develop those projects, which, of course, leans into the Fund for International Cooperative Development.”
The fund, which Robinson chairs, “is a cyclical fund where co-ops support the creation, generation and investment in other co-ops to produce goods and services and helps differentiate co-ops from other retailers, while ensuring we grow the sector at a time when we have a UK government that is committed to doubling the size of the co-op and mutual economy.”
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There is also an alignment on youth involvement and green energy. Central is looking to extend its debt-free degree scheme, apprenticeships and work experience programmes into Essex, and its green energy self-sufficiency programme into the Chelmsford Star estate.
“By pure coincidence, as part of the collaborative work we have been doing with other independent co-operative societies, we signed a 10-year power purchase agreement for the generation of wind energy on the Thames Estuary, which, of course, is a perfect fit for our position now in Chelmsford.”
There are no changes planned for Chelmsford Star food and funeral businesses, although Robinson hopes that greater economies of scale could help reduce the costs, ensure future viability and grow member sales; “Membership sales at Chelmsford Star are at around 12%. We’re at 38% at Central, but we have been able to invest in our app, and that’s been quite transformative.”
There is some duplication of head office roles, “and we will be talent spotting and offering roles where and when we can,” says Robinson, adding that Central is looking to set up a satellite office in Chelmsford to complement Central’s own support centre in Lichfield.
She believes member and colleague communication has been a critical part of the transfer. “In my long career, I’ve been involved in lots of integration projects, and I have to say it’s down to the people […] We appreciate this has been an unsettling time for colleagues and for members, especially when they care so passionately about their society, so we have had a strong engagement process and have introduced listening groups and an online Let’s Chat portal where questions can be submitted.
“I’m sure there’ll be some bumps in the road, but by listening and understanding where people are coming from, we will deal with those as we come to them.”
One immediate challenge was that Chelmsford Star colleagues are on a weekly pay. “We will be moving to four weekly pay, which, as you can imagine, will be more cost-effective, but we will be helping colleagues through this, giving them lots of notice, and we will be closely liaising with Usdaw on all decision processes.
“We have been listening to colleagues about how we can ‘bottle the best of Chelmsford’ and some brilliant things came through those sessions. They were a great chance to meet so many of our new colleagues, and I hope to meet as many as I can in the future.”
