The Society had an average of 884 employees (263 full-time and 621 part-time) in 2018-19,[4] slightly fewer than in 2017-18.

The Society was established in Chelmsford by iron foundry workers in 1867, with the intention of becoming "the Star of the County".

In its first year of trading, Chelmsford Star Industrial Co-operative Society had a membership of 275 and annual sales of £4,316.

[5] According to the International Co-operative Alliance, "A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

[9] The 40 convenience stores - which exclude two loss-making ones that were closed during 2018-19 at Meppel Avenue, Canvey Island and at Southchurch Road, Southend-on-Sea - cover not only the core Chelmsford/Braintree area but also extend as far out as Woodford Green, Ilford and Romford in East London to the southwest and from Grays through East Tilbury to Shoeburyness along the Thames Estuary to the south and southeast.