When we first got together with the aim of having a bookshop in Malvern one of the first things we decided was that the right business structure for the venture was a cooperative.
Cooperatives are very trendy right now. 2012 is the United Nations Year of Cooperatives. For us a cooperative made sense as it captured the spirit of the venture – a group with similar views and aims working towards a common goal. Being a coop isn’t easy! If you want to set up a company you can go online and buy an off the shelf company for £4.99! Forming a co-op is a bit more complicated. However we persitisted and are now registered as a co-op.
However being a co-op has great benefits. One of which is the legal structure that allows us to sign up members to the co-op. And this is where you come in. To finance the co-op one option is to take membership subscriptions or to offer shares in the co-op. The famous Harbour Bookshop in Dartmouth (set up by Christopher Robin of Winnie the Pooh fame!) has been ‘saved’ from closure by a co-op in this way.
So here’s the question: if we sold membersips/shares would you be interested in investing a small (or large!) amount to ensure Malvern has a bookshop. If you would we would be very pleased to hear from you. Please fill in our contact form and we’ll be in touch with more details.
We are interested in the proposed bookshop and would like to be put on your mailing list.
We believe that we could make a useful contribution to the venture in various ways. We are longstanding customers of Beacon Books and share your belief that Malvern needs a very good outlet for books and music.
We look forward to receiving further details.