Coop Norge is a Norwegian cooperative. It is owned by 117 local cooperatives with approximately 2 million members.[1] The company has its headquarters in Oslo.
History
The first cooperative store in Norway was opened in the 1850s and, on 27 June 1906, a group of 28 cooperatives formed the NKL (Norges Kooperative Landsforening, "Norwegian Cooperative Association") to act as a wholesaler for its members. The next year, it joined the International Co-operative Alliance.
NKL acquired the Norwegian Margarine Factory (Margarinfabrikken Norge) in Bergen in 1911; it later purchased other margarine factories in Oslo and Bodø. It purchased a cigarette factory in 1914 and a coffee plant in 1916. During the 1920s, it began production of shoes and flour; during the 1930s, it added chocolate and light bulbs as well as Cooperative Insurance (Samvirke Forsikring). NKL opened the first self-serve store in Norway on 1 October 1947 and, in 1951, the law was changed to permit cooperatives to open branch stores and to sell goods to non-members. In the 1950s, its Tormolux division produced washing machines and mopeds; in the 1960s, it began use of the S brand and opened the warehouse chain Domus. Obs! was established as a separate chain in 1975, and the next year NKL purchased Røra Fabrikker, an Inderøy-based producer of jams and juices.