By Community Correspondent William Caruana The Co-operative have recently opened a new store in New Malden. Following the £1.56bn takeover of Somerfield last year, The Co-op’s new store replaces the old Somerfield and joins rival supermarket chains Waitrose and Tesco on the high street. So why would people change their habits and shop in the Co-op?

The new Co-op brings a diverse approach to running a business like a supermarket, with more ethical ideas and a different way of sharing its profits. On its website, the Co-op says “The Co-operative Group is a unique business democratically run by members to meet their common needs and aspirations. In turn, the strength and commitment of our membership is vital in helping us achieve our goals. So instead of blindly chasing profits like businesses controlled by shareholders, we are able to steer our business in a more responsible direction.” Six main principles underpin their philosophy: Being a unique family business, sharing the profits with members not shareholders, promoting ethics and sustainability, sticking to values and principles, acting democratically and encouraging the Co-operative movement.

Not only does the Co-op have branches of supermarkets, it also practices its principles in other areas of business such as banking, funeral care, pharmacies, legal services and travel. The Co-op offers help and advice such as a free stop smoking service as well as helping to reduce carbon emissions and sharing its profits among members. It also addresses issues like climate change for example: by working with local communities to create walking buses for children on their way to school and building wind farms for a new sustainable energy source. The Co-op also tackles global poverty by pledging third world farmers fair-trade for their crops enabling them to lift themselves out of poverty.

The new Co-op store in New Malden will hopefully encourage local shoppers to think about these issues and act on their beliefs by spending their money in the Co-op and to take it a step further by becoming a member. The uniqueness of the Co-op supermarket contrasts with other leading supermarket chains, whose sole aim is to make as much money as possible for their shareholders via the customer. Since the “Global Credit Crunch”, shoppers are now thinking very carefully where they spend their hard earned pounds. New Malden shoppers now have a broader choice of where to shop.