The Civil Service Supply Association
The Civil Service Supply Association
The Civil Service Supply Association was a membership co-operative that allowed civil servants to benefit from low cost items from catalogues. An early source of discounted purchasing, it helped inspire other models of co-operatives, including the Army and Navy Co-Operative Society.
Founded in 1860 as the Post Office Supply Association, the co-operative's buying power on tea and other sundries proved so successful that it was open to all civil servants within a few months, where it changed its name to the C.S.S.A.
The co-operative traded on two sites within London, one on the Strand and another on Queen Victoria Street.