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We are a co-operative!

On 1 February 2023, the cooperative MILA Mitmach-Supermarkt was founded in Vienna. At the founding meeting, the articles of association were voted on, it was decided to join the Rückenwind auditing association and the first cooperative board was elected. By founding the co-operative, we have taken the next joint step on the way to a large participatory supermarket.

MILA Genossenschaftsgründung

MILA Mitmach-Supermarkt e.G.

Registered co-operative
Registered office: Vienna | Auditing association: Rückenwind

Board of Directors:
Camilla Henrich (Chairwoman), Helmut Adam, Elisabeth Jost, Joachim Pranzl, Ralph Grossmann and Margherita Hameter

Download: Statutes (PDF, 300KB)

Not yet a member of the cooperative?

Information about the co-operative

Why a co-operative?
The cooperative is the most democratic legal form in Austria for doing business together and is therefore ideal for MILA: anyone who supports the MILA concept and recognises the rights and obligations can become a member. Our role models also run their participatory supermarkets as co-operatives.

How much do I have to pay to take part?
With your one-off cooperative share, you become a co-owner of our MILA participatory supermarket. We use the cooperative shares to build up the equity we need to open our supermarket. You become a member of the cooperative by subscribing for cooperative shares. The co-operative share at MILA is socially staggered: The standard share is 180 euros, the social share is 20 euros. For those with greater financial means, we recommend subscribing for more shares. Many people are willing to do this and it is extremely important for our own funds. The co-operative share is a one-off payment that is refunded when you leave.

How does the cooperative work?
Every vote counts the same and every member has exactly one vote, no matter how many shares you subscribe to. As a member, you are invited to the General Assembly and can use your vote to help make decisions. As the General Assembly, we are the joint owners of MILA. The General Assembly meets at least once a year. We elect an honorary board from among the members. The board oversees our supermarket operations, has access to all the books and has certain authority over the employees. We need a core of paid employees to run our supermarket. The Board of Directors appoints the management from among the employees. We plan to have dual leadership, so the dual control principle applies. Our management is responsible for all operational matters to ensure that our supermarket business is well organised, runs smoothly and develops. We decide together how we use any profits: we can invest them in our supermarket or reduce the mark-up on the products we sell.

To be able to shop, I have to join in!
Co-determination, participation and shopping go hand in hand at MILA. To be able to shop as a member of the co-operative, you need to be involved. As soon as MILA opens – in spring 2025 – every member will work in the supermarket for three hours every four weeks. Participation includes everything that needs to be done in the supermarket: stocking shelves, taking deliveries, attaching price tags, cashing up, tidying up and much more. You work as a team, get to know each other and experience sociable co-operation. As a member, you can nominate another person to come shopping – it doesn’t matter whether this person lives in the same household as you or somewhere else. The children of members can come shopping anyway until they are 18 years old.

Why take part in MILA?
MILA revitalises the traditional importance of the market as a meeting place. Members working together strengthens social cohesion and makes favourable prices at MILA possible. All co-operative supermarkets are united by the fact that they have a standard mark-up on their products. In our minimarket it is currently 30 per cent, in our model projects between 23-30 per cent. This fair and transparent pricing enables members to compare and make informed decisions. Other food retailers have completely non-transparent pricing. How much ends up with the producers is opaque. In addition, all MILA members have the opportunity to suggest new products and thus expand the range according to their preferences and values.

Why are we founding the cooperative now?
We have founded the MILA association for the preparatory phase and hopefully all association members who want to shop at MILA will become cooperative members. We use the cooperative shares to build up the necessary equity. The more money we contribute as members, the faster we can reach our goal and the more independently we can work. In order to convince other investors, we need a certain amount of our own funds as security. We also need the cooperative to find a location and sign a rental agreement. When MILA opens, we need over 1,000 cooperative members to ensure that the large participatory supermarket gets off to a good start.

What risks are there?
As a member, you are liable for your cooperative shares with the amount you have paid in, i.e. in the event of insolvency, you must pay this amount again – this is the so-called statutory obligation to make additional contributions, which could generally be cancelled in the future. The risk of insolvency is minimised by the mandatory audit. At MILA, we are a member of the Rückenwind auditing association, which advises us right from the start-up phase and ensures that we are audited externally every two years.