"Well done Foodstuffs!"

MEDIA RELEASE : New Zealand Cooperatives Association

18 August 2009

"Well done Foodstuffs!"

Chairperson of the New Zealand Cooperatives Association, Peter Macdougall today congratulated Foodstuffs on their improved results. With revenue for the year of $7.62bn, the three cooperatives which own Foodstuffs together form New Zealand's second largest business, with the largest being dairy co-op Fonterra Cooperative Group.

“With cooperatives at both number one and number two, this shows the cooperative and mutual business model clearly serving New Zealand well,” he said.

“All in all, the country’s cooperatives and mutuals are responsible for well over 15% of our GDP,” he said. “Cooperatives are locally owned, they are in business to serve their members rather make as much profit as possible, and what profits they do make stay in New Zealand.”

“As for the grocer who owns a supermarket, we like to say that Foodstuffs is their other business, just as for a dairy farmer whose farm is their main business, for them Fonterra is their other business. Both the grocer and the dairy farmer know it makes good business sense to look after their cooperative, just as they look after their main business.”

Foodstuffs includes Pak'n'Save, New World and Four Square, one of New Zealand's most iconic identities.

“The International Cooperative Alliance has compiled a list of the world's top 300 cooperative and mutual businesses,” Peter Macdougall said, “and I'm very proud of the fact that New Zealand has six co-ops in that list. Fonterra is at #31, Foodstuffs Auckland at #135, Foodstuffs (Wellington) Cooperative Society at #178, Silver Fern Farms at #182, Foodstuffs South Island at #191, and Alliance Group at #280.”

“The ICA's 2008 Global 300 list of the world's top co-ops and mutuals shows that the top 300 co-ops are responsible for an astonishing aggregate turnover of US$1.1 trillion, which makes them nearly the size of the 10th largest economy of the world, which is that of Spain.”

The ICA's Global 300 can be found at www.global300.coop.

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