Federated Co-operatives

History

The contemporary FCL is the result of several ongoing co-operative amalgamations. In 1944, the Consumers’ Co-operative Refineries Limited (based in Regina and founded in 1934) and the Saskatchewan Co-Op Wholesale merged to form the Saskatchewan Federated Co-operatives Limited.

FCL purchased Downie Street Sawmills of Revelstoke, British Columbia in 1969. The forest products operation replaced a Smith, Alberta, business FCL sold in 1977.

The United Co-operatives of Ontario were purchased by Growmark in 1994, since operating as FS.

In March 2010, Federated Co-operatives announced an agreement with SeaChoice, a program of Sustainable Seafood Canada devoted to sustainable seafood. Through collaboration, the organizations seek to develop a long term sustainability strategy for seafood sales and procurement in the co-operatives' member businesses.

Federated Co-operatives was awarded the SABEX Environmental & Sustainability award from the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce in May 2010.

In November 2012, FCL sold its Forest Products Division operations in Canoe, British Columbia to Gorman Bros. Lumber. In August 2013, FCL acquired 17 agri-business locations across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and one in Manitoba, from Viterra, which was in the process of selling its Canadian agriculture business to Agrium. They were transferred to local FCL affiliates, excluding two that were retained by FCL and closed. In February 2014, FCL acquired 14 grocery store locations from Sobeys; the divestment was to comply with requirements imposed by the Competition Bureau in the wake of its 2013 acquisition of Safeway. These stores, which were mainly former Safeway locations, were transferred to local affiliates and re-branded as Co-op stores in May 2014. The acquisition notably marked the first time since 1983 that Red River Co-op had operated grocery stores in its footprint.

In August 2019, FCL member Calgary Co-op announced that Overwaitea Food Group would supply the products for its grocery stores beginning April 2020. FCL executives criticized the move for their decision to be supplied by a privately owned competitor, and having a potential impact on the group's overall business (including its Calgary distribution centre). In response to the agreement, FCL closed its distribution centre in Calgary, and introduced a "loyalty program" of quarterly rebates on wholesale petroleum purchases by its members, provided that the member acquires at least 90% of their overall stock via FCL. The organization considered the program to be a safety measure for its members in case of further withdrawals from its system. Calgary Co-op filed a lawsuit alleging that the loyalty program constituted oppressive conduct. In December 2023, FCL was ordered to pay compensation to Calgary Co-op for fuel purchases between November 2019 and January 2023.

In December 2019, Unifor called for a national boycott of all FCL operations due to a then-ongoing lockout and hiring of replacement workers to replace workers at Co-op's Regina refinery.

In November 2021, FCL reached an agreement to acquire 181 Husky-branded retail locations for $264 million—FCL's largest acquisition to-date. They are located in Western Canada, and will be transferred to FCL affiliates or independent franchisees (under the Tempo banner). The sale was part of the divestment of Husky's retail operations by new owner Cenovus Energy, with the remainder being sold to Parkland Corporation.

In late-June 2024, FCL shut down some of its internal systems as a precaution after reporting that it had been the victim of an cyberattack. Customer data was not believed to have been compromised, but the attack impacted the operations of Co-op retail locations, including grocery inventory shortages, and cardlock outages.

Services

Key services fall into the following categories:

• Product distribution from warehouse facilities in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg.
• Six animal feed plants in Western Canada (Ag Business)
• 20 propane distribution centers
• Co-op Refinery Complex (Oil refinery based in Regina, Saskatchewan)
• The Grocery People (TGP) is based in Edmonton, Alberta, and serves independent grocery stores in western Canada

Store brands

Federated Co-operatives markets several store brands at its affiliated retailers, including Co-op Gold, Co-op Gold Pure, Co-op Market Town, Co-op Centsibles (discount-oriented), Co-op Care+ (pharmacy), Co-operative Coffee, and Lucky Dragon (Asian food line).

Its petroleum division franchises the service station brands Tempo, and Western Nations (which is franchised to operators within First Nations communities).

Notable Members

• Lake Country Co-op
• Otter Co-op
• Red River Co-op
• Saskatoon Co-op
• Sherwood Co-op
• Mid Island Co-op

References

References

1. "History: 1944: FCL's Beginnings". Federated Co-operatives.
2. "FCL annual report 2024". Federated Co-Ops.
3. "Federated Co-operatives Limited". [[Bloomberg Businessweek]].
4. Stewart, Iain. "Federated Co-Operatives Limited". [[University of Regina]].
5. "History: 1935: Work begins at CCRL". Federated Co-operatives.
6. "2011 Top 100". Saskatchewan Business Magazine.
7. (December 18, 2008). "Federated Co-operatives sees sales increase". The StarPhoenix.
8. Fairbairn, Brett. (2005). ""Canada's co-operative province" : individualism and mutualism in a settler society, 1905-2005 : reflections in celebration of Saskatchewan's centennial year". Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, University of Saskatchewan.
9. (January 23, 1979). "Canada Packers profit stable". [[Montreal Gazette]].
10. . (February 23, 1995). ["U.S. company buys Ontario farm co-op"](https://www.producer.com/1995/02/us-company-buys-ontario-farm-coop/). *The Western Producer*.
11. (March 23, 2010). "SeaChoice, FCL Forge Sustainable Seafood Partnership". Progressive Grocer.
12. (May 18, 2010). "FCL wins SABEX Award For Environmental Sustainability". FCL.
13. (November 7, 2012). "Gorman Bros. Lumber Ltd. acquires forest product assets from FCL". Gorman Bros. Lumber Ltd..
14. Pratt, Sean. (September 5, 2013). "FCL confident purchase of Viterra input stores will see returns". [[The Western Producer]].
15. (March 20, 2012). "Glencore bids $16.25 for Viterra shares". [[CBC News]].
16. (November 7, 2013). "Co-ops seal deal for Viterra stores, will shut two". AGCanada.
17. "Canada Safeway's changeover a co-operative effort". [[Leader Post]].
18. Kirbyson, Geoff. (February 13, 2013). "Four Winnipeg Safeway stores sold to Red River Co-op". [[Winnipeg Free Press]].
19. Duffy, Andrew. (February 13, 2014). "All Victoria Safeway stores sold to Overwaitea Food Group". [[Times Colonist]].
20. (2019-08-27). "Calgary Co-op to switch food supplier to Save-On-Foods".
21. (2019-08-26). "Calgary Co-op to source groceries from Save-On-Foods". Calgary Herald.
22. MacPherson, Alex. (2019-08-08). "FCL 'disappointed' by Calgary Co-op's decision to pull food purchasing". Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
23. (2023-12-22). "Longtime supplier mistreated Calgary Co-op in bitter dispute over switch to new food source, court finds".
24. (2020-04-05). "Breakdown of Calgary Co-op grocery partnership sparks layoffs and lawsuits". Canadian Press.
25. (2023-12-22). "Longtime supplier mistreated Calgary Co-op in bitter dispute over switch to new food source, court finds".
26. (2023-12-22). "Longtime supplier mistreated Calgary Co-op in bitter dispute over switch to new food source, court finds".
27. "'Greedy Co-op': Unifor launches nationwide boycott of Co-op retailers".
28. Lindenberg, Greg. (December 1, 2021). "Parkland, Federated Co-operatives Split Up 337 Husky Stations".
29. "Co-op acquires Western Canadian Husky retail fuel sites in $264M deal".
30. (2024-06-27). "Federated Co-operatives Limited reports cybersecurity incident, investigation underway".
31. (2024-07-01). "Empty shelves found at some Co-Op stores in Sask. following cybersecurity incident".
32. "About TGP – The Grocery People".
33. "Brands {{!}} Co-op Food".
34. (2021-01-21). "Co-op launches Indigenous gas bar program".