One of Britain's top ten merchandisers is John Lewis Partners (JLP). The "Partners" are its 70,000 permanent staff who jointly own 29 John Lewis shops, 228 Waitrose supermarkets, and several other businesses, with total sales of nearly $9.5 billion last year.
As the company's website explains: "The Partnership's ultimate purpose is the happiness of all its members, through their worthwhile and satisfying employment in a successful business."
Italy's prosperous Emilia Romagna district has a population of 4 million, including the city of Bologna. It is home to 8,000 cooperatives, producing everything from ceramics to fashion to specialty cheese. Their combined output is 30-40% of the district's GDP.
Spain's seventh largest corporation is Mondragon. It is a federation of 256 companies, half of which are cooperatives. Since 1992, the number of its employees has quadrupled to almost 100,000, with more than 16% outside Spain.
By 2011, Mondragon expects that 75% of its workforce will have the status of member/owners. The United Steelworkers recently signed an agreement with Mondragon to promote manufacturing cooperatives in the U.S. and Canada.
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