I'M?SORRY that John T. doesn't quite grasp the significance of the Co-op "divi". After all, it's always been an important part of what the Co-op's all about – long before Tesco and its like even existed.

 It dates back to the "Rochdale Pioneers" in 1844, when workers in the town got together to found one of the earliest Co-ops in the country. The idea of a "dividend" to members based on the amount that they had spent in the store was introduced not only to ensure that they had a return on their purchases made at the Co-op but also to safeguard its future. In other words it was based on the profit (or "surplus value" as early co-operators called it) not on the Co-op society's capital.

 It was the same when the Cinderford Co-op came into being in 1874 – and when the Lydney Co-op Society was founded in 1887.  Basically any Co-operative society both then and now has to retain enough out of its profits to plough back into the business, and allow for expansion, trading conditions, etc.  Members of the society (in other words its customers who've joined the society) have the right to discuss the level of the "divi" at general meetings of the society, and challenge it if they're not satisfied. On top of that, the Midcounties Co-op also operates a "community dividend" scheme in which grants are given to local organisations, and thus ploughed back into the community.

 Whether or not prices at the Co-op across the board are higher than those at the big four supermarket chains is a moot point. But certainly the principle of the dividend is very different from that of other store operators with their "clubcards" or "loyalty" cards.

 By the way, I hear that there's a new film in preparation on the "Rochdale Pioneers". I'd recommend it to those who want to know more about the principle of the dividend  – and indeed the co-operative movement as a whole.

– Alistair Graham, Stanford Road, Lydney.