in June 2012Nisa was founded as the Northern Independent Supermarkets Association by Peter Garvin and Dudley B. Ramsden in 1977. It was formed as a
mutual organisation owned by its members and operating "...like a
co-operative, using the collective buying power of the large group of members to negotiate deals with suppliers". In 1987, it merged with The Today's Group to become Nisa-Today's. In 2006, a merger with
Costcutter, another symbol group, was proposed, but ultimately fell through, after concerns about a
cartel forming were reported to the
Office of Fair Trading by members of Nisa-Today's who opposed the merger. In 2012, Nisa-Today's demerged into Nisa and Today's Group. Today's Group subsequently merged with Landmark Wholesale in 2018 to form Unitas Wholesale.
Nick Read was appointed as Nisa CEO in February 2015, and began what
The Grocer described as a "hard-fought turnaround". In November 2017, Nisa's 1,190 members approved the purchase of the business by the
Co-operative Group. The acquisition was subject to regulatory approval by the
Competition and Markets Authority, and was finalized in May 2018. In 2019, Nisa recruited more than 500 stores, representing a 40% increase in the number of outlets being signed. In March 2025, Nisa rebranded to Co-op Wholesale, the Nisa brand itself would continue to be used by Co-op Wholesale. ==Operations==