Co-op Atlantic is a Canadian chain of grocery stores founded by a consumer’s cooperative. The cooperative is headquartered in New Brunswick, Canada.

History
Co-op Atlantic was created in 1927 and was originally named Maritime Livestock Board. Later, it was incorporated and became the Maritime Co-operative Services Limited in June of 1944. In 1977, the cooperative decided to change the business’ name to Co-op Atlantic.

The cooperative’s structure of governance consists of eight zones. The zones cover Labrador and Newfoundland; Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia (mainland), Cape Breton, New Brunswick (South eastern), Nova Scotia (Northern, English-speaking zone), New Brunswick (South western, French-speaking zone), the Magdalen and New Brunswick (Northern).

Co-op Atlantic has about 830 employees working in four of the Atlantic Provinces, plus 130 employees working at the corporate stores of Co-op Food Market. Co-op Atlantic’s members are comprised of 99 retail cooperatives, which include general merchandise stores, country stores and grocery stores. There are also members from agricultural societies.

Co-op Atlantic also owns two private retail banners: Valufood and RiteSTOP. Valufood is a chain of grocery stores and RiteSTOP is a chain of convenience stores. These chain stores are managed by independent franchise owners operating in the provinces of the Atlantic. Currently, there are 27 Valufoods stores and 60 RiteSTOP convenience stores in the provinces.

In 2009, Co-op Atlantic ranked as number 8 in Progress’ TOP 101 companies in the area of Atlantic Canada. A year after, the cooperative’s Board of Directors was awarded an Excellence Award for Governance. In the beginning of that same year, Co-op Atlantic was able to earn merged sales of more than $567 million.

Aside from being engaged in the retail business, Co-op Atlantic is also supportive of a number of community organizations. In fact, it is an important sponsor of the yearly Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. Co-op Atlantic even organizes a yearly Eat Atlantic Challenge. The cooperative is also an important donor to several charitable causes, such as the United Way Campaign, the IWK & Janeway Children’s Hospitals and the food drive “Drive Away Hunger.” Co-op Atlantic also has its own charity campaign, the “Feed the Need” campaign. This is a yearly event that encourages individuals and organizations to donate food for those in need.

Headquarters: Moncton, New Brunswick
Ownership Type: Cooperative
Employees: Information not available
Geography: Canada
Demography: Retail grocery

Brands
Coop, Valufoods, RiteSTOP

Important links
Co-op Atlantic Corporate Home Page
Products
Jobs and Careers
Co-op Atlantic Contact Information