Citizens in each area can become contributing members with voting power and receive a percentage of their purchases back annually.
Comprising 70% of the retail trade in Kuwait, the legal basis for consumer cooperatives was established in 1962 with law No.
[6] During the Iraqi invasion in 1990, Co-Ops played a major role in providing food and medicine, as well as support for residents and resistance groups.
[7] One of the aims of the Kuwaiti Resistance's guerilla tactics was to push the invading forces into their encampments to prevent them from coming near the co-ops, as they were seen as important and central community centres in each area.
[8] In addition to the negative psychological impact their visits would cause, Iraqi officers would at times harass Kuwaiti citizens and residents there and steal items; the Kuwaiti resistance followed a safe approach in response to such incidents by using remote detonations and silenced weapons.