Civil Service Supply Association

In 1864, a group of clerks in the General Post Office joined together to buy a half chest of tea.

Their first transaction resulted in them saving 9 pence to the pound, and they decided to extend their purchasing to coffee, sugar and other grocery products.

[1] In January 1865, they formed the Post Office Supply Association, a co-operative with forty members.

[2] Their first premises were on Victoria Street, but by 1877 they had moved to 425 Strand, a building designed by architects Lockwood & Mawson.

[3] In 1927, the co-operative was incorporated as a private company, becoming a fully fledged department store and severing its links with the Civil Service.