Nisa was founded as the Northern Independent Supermarkets Association by Peter Garvin and Dudley B. Ramsden in 1977.[8] 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".[9]
In 1987, it merged with The Today’s Group to become Nisa-Today’s.[10]
In 2006, a merger with Costcutter, another symbol group, was proposed, but ultimately fell through, after concerns about a cartel[11] forming were reported to the Office of Fair Trading by members of Nisa-Today's who opposed the merger.[12]
In 2012, Nisa-Today's demerged into Nisa and Today's Group.[13] Today's Group subsequently merged with Landmark Wholesale in 2018 to form Unitas Wholesale.[14]
Nick Read was appointed as Nisa CEO in February 2015,[15] and began what The Grocer described as a "hard-fought turnaround".[16]
In November 2017, Nisa's 1,190 members approved the purchase of the business by the Co-operative Group.[17] The acquisition was subject to regulatory approval by the Competition and Markets Authority, and was finalized in May 2018.[18] In 2019, Nisa recruited more than 500 stores, representing a 40% increase in the number of outlets being signed.[19]
As of 2016[update], Nisa Retail Limited supplies over 4,000 convenience shops and small supermarkets, including the Costcutter symbol group[5] and CK Foodstores in Wales.[21] According to accounts for year ending on 31 March 2014, Nisa Retail Limited had an estimated net worth of £30.77 million.[22]
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£1.388 billion (2022) [4] 
