It has become more and more evident that independent food retailers must co-ordinate their individual efforts if they are to gain an operating efficiency paralleling that of the corporate multiple-unit or chain system. Such co-ordination largely has taken three courses: (1) group buying clubs, (2) wholesale- sponsored voluntary chains, and (3) retailer-owned co-operative warehouses. It is the last of these that this study suggests as the most appropriate course for Denton independent retailers.