Founded by our Members, for our Members.
Capricorn was formed when, in 1974, an informal buying group voted to officially register Capricorn Society as a cooperative. Today, Capricorn has over 28,000 Members and 2,000 Preferred Suppliers across Australia and New Zealand, and is celebrating 50 years of helping Members.
The original group, all Golden Fleece owners, met at a trainising session on how to run a business, held by Golden Fleece in South Perth. Over the next four days, these eleven strangers got to know one another and while discussing the topic ‘How to improve your business’ they discussed buying better.
One of the barriers these businesses faced was the tight control WA Spare Parts Association held over its members, meaning service station owners were buying parts at a very disadvantageous rates compared to others in the industry. So, when one of the group bragged he could get spark plugs much cheaper than the regular price, he wasn’t believed.
The group agreed to meet later to compare invoices. Taking matters into their own hands, these 11 service station owners formed a joint buying group to pool their resources and increase their buying power. The strategy worked, and grew to 17 by December 1974, when they decided to officially register as a co-operation. Frank O’Connor was appointed General Manager and remained in this position until 2000, growing the strength of the company while maintaining the original purpose and vision.
The early years were tough, several times the fledgling cooperative nearly didn’t make it. But under Frank’s stewardship, it grew until Membership passed the 500 mark in 1988. In 2004, we celebrated 9,000 Members and today we have over 28,000 Members who make up our Capricorn community.
Even though we started in Western Australia, we are now a proud to operate in all Australian states and New Zealand. In 1987, we expanded into the Eastern States and in 1997 we expanded offshore into New Zealand.
Capricorn Members now include mechanics, collision repairers, auto electricians and others who work in the automotive aftermarket. Our product range includes a trade account, fuel card and CAP ezi-finance with Members also having the option to take out risk protection through Capricorn Mutual which was launched in 2003.
The success of Capricorn was never guaranteed. But where we are today is a testament not just to the vision of the Original 17 and the hard work of all those who have followed, but to the value Members continue to see in the power of working together. We believe Capricorn survived and flourished because we have spent half a century listening to and meeting the needs of Members. Their success is our success. And we believe that is something work celebrating!
