from the fiercely local co-operative societies and the proposals of the report were only partly and slowly implemented. The end of war allowed some attempt to modernise the co-operative stores around this time, while the slow demobilisation of the wartime boost of full employment and high wages partly waned consumer spending power. After the London Co-operative Society opened its first self-service shop in 1942, the co-operative movement led the way on the development of self-service stores to the point where, by the 1950s, 90% of self-service shops in the UK were run by co-operatives. Despite this the subscribed share capital (risk capital) available to societies to innovate and take risks dwindled causing market share and relative quality of the service societies could offer their members to dwindle. Consequently, this impacted the movement by reducing the number of society members willing to enter membership and then actively trade with their co-operatives, leading to further real terms falls in withdraw-able member share capital levels, and in the level or return generated co-operative investment in the form of lower interest and dividends. A corollary of falling market share was continued ownership of freehold land, property and infrastructure, such as warehouses, dairies and farmland (the Co-operative Farms) built up by societies with accumulated surpluses from the 50 years of growth before the war. The Co-operative Independent Commission (1958) was tasked with investigating the decline in the co-op movement and for making recommendations for revitalising the movement in the future. Its recommendations had two main thrusts: that a strong response to the emerging multiple-store supermarket chains (including the appointment of professional managers) was needed and that the Co-op needed to come to terms with the rise in consumerism and to move away from its association with the "working poor" rather than a more prosperous working class. The CWS responded with operation facelift in 1968 which introduced the first national co-operative branding, the 'Co-op' cloverleaf. Though Operation Facelift led to some improvements, the movement (including the CWS) remained largely unreformed with its grocery market share continuing a downward trend. Again, it was suggested that societies merge to form regional societies to improve their competitiveness through enhanced economies of scale. Many local co-op societies strongly resisted such mergers but, as their financial situation declined, many were forced to merge to create regional societies or were absorbed into either the CRS or the SCWS to avoid failing. Consolidation