Scotmid

The Scottish Midland Co-operative Society, trading as Scotmid Co-operative, is an independent retail consumers' co-operative which originated in the Scottish Midlands, particularly Edinburgh and the Lothians. It was formed in 1981 by a merger of the Dalziel Society of Motherwell with the St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Society which had been established in 1859. With over 5,000 staff, the chain now has nearly 200 supermarkets and five perfume shops in Scotland, 8 Lakes & Dales stores, and over 140 Semichem health and beauty shops throughout Scotland and Northern Ireland, and parts of England

Like most retail consumers' co-operatives in the UK, Scotmid is incorporated as an industrial and provident society, regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

History

In 1968, Leith Provident's 1911 department store on Great Junction Street was still operating a then unusual overhead wire system that transported a customer's payment and dividend number from the sales assistant to the cashier, returning change and receipt.