Coop is one of the leading brands in the retail sector in Italy and at the same time a collective entity comprising 75 consumer cooperatives in the country. It boasts 6.2 million members (one-quarter of Italian households are Coop members) and over 59,000 employees. With a network of more than 1,000 stores, Coop is present in 18 regions. There are two national structures: the National Association of Consumer Cooperatives (Ancc-Coop), which defines common economic and social policy guidelines, and Coop Italia, the Marketing and Procurement Consortium responsible for negotiating with industries and producers, developing and producing private labels, ensuring quality and safety policies, and shaping marketing strategies. Coop Italia oversees the production, development, and quality control of “Coop-branded products” (Coop private label), designed according to Coop’s values and mission to provide consumers with safe, affordable, sustainable, high-quality, and ethical products. Following its repositioning project, there are now over 7,100 Coop-branded products.
In 1998, Coop Italia became the first company in Italy and Europe (and the eighth in the world) to obtain Social Accountability SA8000 certification, which guarantees adherence to ethical standards in the development and production of Coop-branded products. At the beginning of 2024, Coop Italia became the first company in the Organized Large-Scale Distribution sector to receive Gender Equality Certification according to UNI PdR 125. This voluntary tool, made available by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) – Department of Equal Opportunities of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, measures and monitors a range of indicators. This reference practice aims to support and encourage companies to adopt adequate policies to reduce gender gaps in terms of growth opportunities within the company, equal pay for equal work, gender diversity management policies, and maternity protection.
