Scotmid wants to see its members become actively involved within the Society. Membership gives you a genuine opportunity to play a key role within the organisation.
It began in a house in Grove Street, Edinburgh, in July 1859 where 12 men met with the purpose of forming a co-operative society, a practice which was becoming increasingly popular with poor choice and high prices common when dealing with the merchants of the day.
The first St Cuthbert's shop opened on 4 November, 1859 in Edinburgh on the corner of Ponton Street and Fountainbridge. The Association had 63 members and capital of just over £30.
The first five years were hard for the Association and visible results were not seen until five years later.
By October 1864, the Association had 275 members, quarterly sales of over £1,500 and a profit from the previous three-month period of £110. The future of the Association was now secure and the committee could begin to see results from their efforts.
1864 was a landmark year when married women were permitted to join the Association. In the mid-1860s, a new shop and bakery opened in Morrison Street, followed by a separate shop for drapery and boots next door.
By December 1880, with rising membership and increasing trade, the Association had outgrown the Fountainbridge premises so a large piece of land in Fountainbridge was purchased on which to erect new premises which would also accommodate stabling and baking. The new building was formally opened on Christmas Day 1880.
From 1877-1886, a further 7 shops were opened.
In 1883, the 'Women's League for the Spread of Co-operation', later renamed 'The Co-operative Women's Guild', was established and, by 1959, there was over 30 St Cuthbert's women's guild branches with a membership of approximately 1,500.
From 1886-1899, a further 20 shops were opened during a period of determined and significant expansion for the Association.
St Cuthbert's started to expand its horizons beyond its core grocery and bakery business by opening a new drapery store in Bread Street and a butcher's shop in Fountainbridge in 1886.
A coal department was set up in August 1887.
Three new drapery shops were opened between 1887 and 1899, and from drapery the Association expanded into the sale of furniture.
A crockery department opened in 1894, and the first pharmacy department in Bread Street in 1900.
From 1900 onwards, St Cuthbert’s growth benefited from amalgamations with other societies (Northern, Norton Park, Bonnyrigg and Juniper Green Societies)
By 1909, St Cuthbert's had grown to become the largest Co-operative in Scotland. In its first 50 years, the Association had paid out £3,646,726 in dividends and had the highest sales of any co-op in the UK.
St Cuthbert's started to expand into new areas of business by starting a laundry service in Chesser Avenue, Edinburgh in 1912.
By 1923, St Cuthbert’s had the highest annual sales of Britain’s co-ops although it was only the fifth largest in terms of members. This was also the year that women were admitted to the Board of Management – another landmark for the Association.
In 1925, the Association opened an almost fully automatic bakery in Port Hamilton. The opening of the bakery was followed in 1927 by a dairy next door which had equipment for the pasteurisation of milk, a practice pioneered by co-op societies in Scotland.
St Cuthbert's also charged for its milk bottles which gave much losses much smaller than those co-ops that didn't. The opening of the dairy also saw the introduction of a separate dividend on milk. By 1959 the dairy had a daily output of 12,000 gallons.
In 1934, a superannuation scheme was introduced for Association staff. By 1935, St Cuthbert’s was the largest farming operation in Scotland and the largest cattle feeders in the UK.
By 1937, it was recognised that by its sheer size and example, St Cuthbert's had the power to regulate prices in Edinburgh.
In 1942, the Association had its first woman president, Margaret Bain.
In 1944, at the age of 13, none other than Sir Sean Connery - then Thomas Sean Connery - started work as a barrow worker in St Cuthbert's dairy, at a wage of 21 shillings a week.
In 1948, Sir Sean left the Association temporarily for his National Service, making a brief return as a milk horseman until 1950 when his acting career beckoned.
In 1946, £10,000 was granted for the purchase of premises for welfare and education facilities for Association employees. Welfare House in Polwarth Terrace opened towards the end of 1950 as a memorial to Association employees who lost their lives in World War Two.
In 1949, St Cuthbert's was among the pioneers of self-service shopping in Scotland, experimenting first of all in the Dundee Street branch and, soon after, converting the Picardy Street branch to this increasing modern and popular way of shopping.
In 1959 – 100 years after the founding of the Association – Scotland’s first supermarket was established in Leven Street, just around the corner from the original Scotmid store in Ponton Street.
Also in 1959, the Centenary of the Association was celebrated by:
In 1965, the Association's transport department received the prestigious Royal Warrant for Coach Painting. The following year the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited St Cuthbert's transport department and the Queen was presented with a four-wheeled game wagonetta for use at Balmoral.
From 1966 onwards, further expansion of the Association came with the amalgamation of St Cuthbert's and Hillwood, Portobello, Gorebridge, Crofthead and Leith Provident Societies. St Cuthbert's was now the only co-op in Edinburgh.
A computer was first introduced at head office in 1970.
From 1981, we were, of course, known as Scotmid. It was the merger with the Dalziel Society of Motherwell in 1981 that prompted the name change from St Cuthbert’s Co-operative Association of Edinburgh to the Scottish Midlands Co-operative Society, reflecting the much larger geographic area covered.
It was because of this merger that many other co-operative societies throughout Scotland flocked to join forces with Scotmid. These included Carluke & Law, West Lothian and Bo'ness Societies.
In January 1985, Scotmid made the last horse-drawn milk deliveries in the UK. Scotmid horses had been pulling milk carts over Edinburgh for over 100 years. They were more economical than motor vehicles and more reliable, especially in the winter months, but with the rising popularity of buying milk in cartons from supermarkets, it was time for the end of an era.
The same year saw Scotmid stores introducing automatic till scanners, barcodes and printed till receipts.
From 1985 onwards, further expansion of the Society came with the amalgamation of Scotmid and Penicuik, Uddingston and Prestonpans Societies.
In 1986, Scottie the dog was introduced as part of the Society's new corporate identity.
In 1995, the acquisition of Semichem became another landmark in the history of the Society. Semichem which operated 25 discount health and beauty stores, was founded by the Kerr family in Ayrshire in the 1980s.
A dedicated stream of investment and marketing saw the chain flourish and expand rapidly across towns and cities across Scotland and Northern Ireland and, by 1999, Semichem was operating 80 stores. The business was further enlarged in mid-1999 with the purchase of the Northern Irish Options health and beauty chain which was operating 27 stores.
From 1996 onwards, further expansion of the Society came with the amalgamation of Scotmid and Bonnybridge and North Tayside, Strathaven Societies.
In 1999, the Society expanded its funeral services with the purchase of the Broxburn firm of Thomas Brown, followed in 2004 by the purchase of Dundas Fyfe of Motherwell. In December 2008, the division expanded its funeral home numbers to eight, opening a new service in Armadale, West Lothian.
During 2003 and 2004, Scotmid underwent a rapid period of growth. In 2003, the Society purchased eight stores from the Co-operative Group and, in June 2004, a further nine Spar stores in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife.
In August 2004, Scotmid acquired Dundee-based convenience store chain, Morning Noon & Night in a move that was described at the time as "one of the most significant retail deals in Scotland". Although the majority of MNN stores have now been refurbished to the Scotmid format, some continue to be known as MNN to remain familiar to their local communities.
This acquisition increased the Society's stores to 120, widening the geographical spread and taking the total workforce to over 4,000.
Between 1996 and 2000, all of the Society's non-food department outlets were closed, marking the beginning of the modernisation of the organisation. A major aspect of the continued move to modernisation was a switch from supermarket formats to convenience stores.
After being based at Fountainbridge for 125 years, the Society moved to a purpose-built head office at Newbridge in 2005. The building was named Hillwood House after the Hillwood Co-operative Society which had amalgamated with St Cuthbert’s in 1966.
Following so much acquisition, which resulted in a loss of over £20 million for the Society, Scotmid went back to basics and began to restructure the business. The first steps on the road to recovery could be seen in 2007.
Throughout the time they have been trading, both St Cuthbert's and Scotmid have won prestigious business awards. The Society's most important award was the Scottish Grocer's Social Responsibility Award which was awarded to Scotmid in 2008 and 2009.
"150 years on, this award shows that we are still carrying out the co-operative values and principles in the way we work." Hollis Smallman, President of Scotmid
The Society celebrated its 150th year in 2009. A 150th Anniversary DVD was produced to show the development of the Society from 1859 onwards.
The Society was also greatly honoured to receive a civic reception at the City Chambers from the Lord Provost of Edinburgh in recognition of our 150 years of co-operation in Edinburgh.
And, among other events and activities, staff were invited to compete in a talent competition, 'Scotmid's Strictly Got the Talent Factor' which was both fun and a huge boost for Society morale.
2009 was also the year that 'The Academy' opened at Newbridge. This is a training facility designed and developed to improve the consistency of operation within the food estate and with the long-term aim of developing staff from shop floor to manager level.
In 2009, Scotmid Society members agreed to a constitutional review to modernise the Society's governance structure. Changes include the creation of new area committees to cover the East and West areas, with the introduction of a North committee in the pipeline.
Nominations and elections for regional representatives will continue to take place at AGMs and OGMs but, for the first time, members have the opportunity to directly elect Board members.
In 2010, the Society began a new business venture in the form of The Fragrance House, selling prestige fragrance brands with stores in Dundee and Livingston shortly followed by stores in Greenock, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
A further significant purchase was made in November 2010 when the Society acquired the 51-store Botterills Convenience Stores chain (which operates under the Spar branding), bringing the total number of convenience stores owned by Scotmid to almost 200.