Modernise or die The 150 year old co-op movement has been told to implement radical proposals designed to make it fit for the 21st century. Elaine Watson reports Modernise or die' was the stark message to the co-operative movement from the commission set up to explore its future. Set up last February with the backing of prime minister Tony Blair, the 12 strong team of politicians, trade unionists and big guns from the Co-ops was asked to see how the movement could succeed in the 21st century. The last report from an independent Co-operative Commission back in 1958 was "prescient in its analysis and right in nearly everything it recommended," say members of the new team. "Yet the movement failed to implement it. That must not happen this time." Second time round, they have pulled no punches. If the Co-op fails to take heed of its recommendations, concludes the latest report, "there is a very real chance" it might not be around to celebrate the bicentenary in another 50 years. So what did they come up with to reverse the declining fortunes of the movement? For a start, they have acknowledged the Co-op will have to wave respectable amounts of cash at senior executives from outside the movement to ensure the best business brains are in charge of what is, after all, a multi billion pound business. Second, the movement needs an urgent image overhaul. A jazzy new logo, new national membership cards, a recruitment drive and an image makeover are not simply pointless PR stunts, says the report. Indeed, commissioners were convinced the "widespread image of the Co-op as an old fashioned retail store," was the movement's greatest weakness. There are many practical recommendations to give the retail operation more polish. They include standard store formats, layouts and fascias and common IT platforms, improved co-operation between adjacent societies in practical matters such as distribution, and common purchasing of fixtures and fittings. In fact, everything you might expect from a symbol group trying to keep its independent members in line. Step out of line and a newly established Brand Panel will be on the case. Retail societies failing to meet the panel's "brand requirements" could be kicked out of the CRTG or stripped of the Co-op logo. More contentious is the thorny issue of CRTG membership, and commissioners have grasped it by the horns. In a statement clearly aimed at United Norwest, the only big society to spurn the trading group, the commissioners recommend that "all societies should now join the CRTG", which should undergo a radical overhaul to bring its voting policies and accounting practices up to speed. Whether United Norwest will take heed remains to be seen. Senior managers still insist there is no need to join the buying group. While there is nothing in the report likely to set the Rochdale pioneers turning in their graves, commissioners urge societies to learn from plcs when it comes to bookkeeping, adopting a standard system of financial accounting and setting "challenging" commercial targets. Indeed the only way to deter hungry carpetbaggers and demutualisers is to inject more professionalism into the movement by recruiting senior personnel from the private sector, investing in state of the art IT, reinvigorating "brand Co-op" and running the business more efficiently. Perhaps reflecting the influence of former BP chairman Lord Simons and Labour Party finance director David Pitt-Watson, the commissioners have spent the last 11 months wading through reports from the likes of UBS Warburg, KPMG and IBM as well as submissions from different societies. However, the balance between "radical and deliverable" recommendations that the commissioners said they were aiming for looks shaky in some departments, while some chapters lack detail. Nevertheless, the wording of the report suggests the commission wants to set things in motion quickly, calling for the government to take immediate action on key recommendations. Likewise, the report calls for a summit of co-operative bankers, government ministers and social economy experts to be scheduled for 2001, rather than at an unspecified date in the distant future. However, there is less clarity on the likely timescale for setting up the bewildering number of new panels, working groups, programmes, foundations and advice centres recommended by the commission. And while the proposals have got the thumbs up from Tony Blair, the government has yet to respond to specific demands for closer links with Labour. So can a business model dreamed up by 28 working men in Rochdale in the 19th century make the grade in the 21st century? It is now up to the co-operative congress in May when they consider the recommendations.However, the commissioners have made it clear that if the movement does not grasp this opportunity to give its structures and accounts a radical overhaul now, it will not get another chance. {{NEWS }}

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