Coop Norway has announced that it plans to re-evaluate the structure of its corporate governance model, following criticism that the group's members are not represented well enough at its top level.
Talking to Norwegian media outlet Nettavisen, Tore Tjomsland, chairman of Coop Norge, and general manager of Coop Øst, said that the retail group is to "set up a committee" to evaluate its governance model and structure, and explore potential improvements.
Coop Norway Structure
Up to 2017, the group's management board boasted three member representatives, including a chairman and deputy chairman, to represent its 1.9 million members.
Now, however, Coop member representatives no longer feature on its board, while the largest cooperatives in the group, which include 66 groups, are seen to have greater influence.
'No Longer A Democracy'
As Jan Olav Osen, former director of Coop Sør-Helgeland, told the paper last week, this change in structure means that the organisational model at Coop Norge is "no longer the democracy it was in the past".
In response, Tjomsland told Nettavisen, "When critical questions are now asked as to whether the governance model of Coop Norge safeguards member democracy and interaction with the cooperatives in a good enough way, we must take this seriously."
Efforts are also likely to be made to improve the gender balance in the company's board, which currently comprises eight men and three women, according to the paper.
Back in February, the group announced that it paid a 'record dividend' to its members following elevated sales last year.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
