CO.NET Verbrauchergenossenschaft eG:
Small investment, big benefit – since 2001!
CO.NET Verbrauchergenossenschaft eG from Drochtersen/LK Stade was founded in 2001. It considers itself a traditional type of cooperative that bundles core competences. It represents a large community with benefits for its members.
Through collaboration with many trade partners, CO.NET offers discounts and credits for purchases from our partners. The DiRa® system uses its own efficient payment and discount system.
The business shares are invested in tangible assets.
Other business areas are nationally developed card concepts, strategic alliances as well as card concepts for medium-sized and large companies. CO.NET also designs individual customer loyalty concepts for companies, online shop systems, benefit partner concepts, investment in holiday properties and much more.
As a consumer cooperative, CO.NET is a traditional business type that serves exclusively to benefit its individual members – primarily by providing shopping benefits and secondarily by earning a cooperative dividend on the shares of its members.
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Cooperative success model
What is so special about cooperatives? Back in the Middle Ages communities were founded in order to improve the living conditions of the community with united forces or to master large tasks together more easily and lastingly. The members of a cooperative participate based on their abilities with one or more business shares. The sum of these shares makes it possible to achieve goals more quickly together that would be much more difficult or even impossible for an individual to achieve. Usually founded out of necessity in the early days, many cooperatives worldwide have evolved into large organisations that are favourable and beneficial for their members. As different as their goals may be, the basic principle is always the same: Together we are strong!
Since that time, many people have joined together to form cooperatives for many different purposes, but all cooperatives share a simple principle – the economic advancement of their members. This ‘highest guiding principle’ is entrenched in the German Cooperatives Act and is therefore an important working foundation for every cooperative.
The legal basis for it in Germany is the legal form ‘eG’, the registered cooperative. Strict requirements, frequent inspections and audits of business processes by independent bodies ensure transparency and security for the members’ shares. The cooperatives are distinguished by their active co-determination principle. Each full member has one vote, regardless of the number of shares. Thus the vote of each member has the same weight.
A convincing model: in Germany there are currently about five times as many cooperative members as shareholders. The United Nations has also recognised the role of cooperatives in economic and social development and declared 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives.
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What is CO.NET?
CO.NET Verbrauchergenossenschaft eG is a consumer cooperative. CO.NET was founded by Thomas Limberg, Dr Jörg Wild, Gerhard Köhnholdt and four other founding members in 2001 and has successfully accomplished many things for its members since then. The objective is to provide our members with many benefits in everyday life through cooperation with many trading partners. This includes discounts and credits for purchases from our partners. The business shares are invested in tangible assets.
How does it work? – The CO.NET principle
You become a shareholder and from a certain share amount also a voting member of CO.NET Verbrauchergenossenschaft eG. Upon request, you will receive our exclusive CO.NET MasterCard® free of charge. This allows you to shop at a reduced price at our local partners and also save money at our online partners via our shopping portal. At the same time, your business shares are used in the cooperative and work in various business areas for the member community. The cooperative’s divisions are broadly based and combine secured tangible assets with predictable income fields.
A full membership already starts with 4 business shares (at €500 each). The holding period is at least 5 years. The administration costs of the one-time participation are 10% of the ownership share sum, independent of the amount and not exceeding €1,000.
The five pillars of the CO.NET Group are:
- Licensing services for internet portals
- Provision of customercard systems
- Investments in holiday properties
- CO.NET MasterCard®
- EBICS-based authorisation servers
Our strategy is based on a solid foundation with healthy growth. We act with foresight and transparency, because; after all, these are your shares. A competent team of tax consultants, auditors and lawyers supports us, and an annual independent audit guarantees transparency and proof of success. In recent years, this model has enabled us to generate remarkable cooperative dividends for our members. Thus your shares work for you and not for others!
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Prevention
We want to reduce potential risks to a minimum for the business shares of our members. After all, it is your shares that we use responsibly on your behalf. The term prevention is known from the medical field. Prevention means preventing risks and protecting people before the consequences of wrong actions take their toll. CO.NET’s efforts are aimed at protecting the assets of its members. Many of the traditional ways fail today. It is time to take alternative, new ways. CO.NET Verbrauchergenossenschaft eG creates simple and clear options, primarily for saving and secondarily for equity formation. Economic support as a COMMUNITY increases the security for ALL so that yields can be optimised in a way that is usually only possible for very few people.
Preventing risks – safety first!
Together with its insurance partners, CO.NET Verbrauchergenossenschaft eG guarantees comprehensive protection. In addition to trust indemnity insurance, this also includes pecuniary damage liability insurance for the Management Board and Supervisory Board.
By combining policies, other special risks are also insured, from embezzlement to bad decisions by Management Board and Supervisory Board members. This includes contractual penalties, damage to reputation, risks like robbery, theft, counterfeiting, hacking including phishing, pharming and spyware, misconduct of all employees including external personnel working for CO.NET.
It provides an all around waterproof protection package.