Les supermarchés coopératifs et participatifs, un modèle socio-productif émergeant ?
Abstract
The crisis of mass distribution as well as the current economic, social, and environmental issues contribute to transforming the landscape of the French food distribution sector. In this context a myriad of economic actors are emerging, driven by the desire to provide alternatives to the conventional food distribution system. This is precisely the case of the food coop model inspired by Park Slope Food Coop, that has been imported and popularized in France by La Louve. Its goal is to take the supermarket format and turn it into a non-profit model, by updating consumer cooperative spirit and principles from the 19th century. This article is based on fieldwork that aims at identifying, characterizing and listing French food coops. Interviews with the employees, founders and administrators of these initiatives were conducted to examine their socio-productive characteristics in light of contemporary sectoral transformations. The aim shared by all the promoters we met is to make inroads into the market sphere with the development of a promise to be different so as to challenge the dominant model within the sector. However, in addition to this common project, the methods of differentiation from mass retailing diverge and divide. The field shows significant disparities in terms of strategies, which are manifested in the development of different product policies, production organizations, or work relations. This diversity leads to a blurring of organizational boundaries with other emerging initiatives that share this anti-establishment outlook, like “les épis” (wheat ears) and “les coopératives alimentaires autogérées” (self-managed food cooperatives).
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