Board Notes: April 2012

By Susan Munkres, Board President

At our annual retreat, held at the Intervale Center this past month, the Board spent most of our time talking about planning for an expansion. We have been reading the market study, hearing from the top management team, and learning about the expansion process in the cooperative world. 

We are excited that our store is considering an expansion. Why? Because the need for expansion is such a sign of success. Our store is clearly serving its members well: membership is growing, sales to members are higher than ever, and members buy more than non-members when they shop (this is called “basket size”). Not to mention our classes, workshops and tours, which fill & have waiting lists. But all this activity means our parking lot can be full and our register lines long. For me personally, maneuvering shopping cart, daughter, stuffed animal companions & groceries through the aisles can be a challenge!

So with this success, we have learned, comes the necessity to reduce the pressure on this downtown location. We will serve our members by ensuring our current location’s financial stability – by finding another location for some of us to shop! And, as we learned from our market study, that means opening a second store where many of our shoppers already live, so that they will come to our second store instead, making that new location financially viable. By expanding in this way, we can secure a solid foundation, from which to consider opening smaller neighborhood stores in other areas, like the Old North End or Winooski. But we can only consider these options if our business is solid.

Several community members have commented that our Global Ends—our mission – include providing “local access to progressive social, environmental and healthful choices” and seem to favor a second location in the Old North End or Winooski. However, we also have Executive Limitations, or principles that limit us from taking actions which endanger the financial stability of our business. As we reminded ourselves at our retreat, “no margin = no mission.” In other words, we can’t achieve our goals without the foundation of strong financial performance.  Opening a second store in a location that ensures the stability of both stores is paramount.

We are working closely with the General Manager, Clem Nilan, and the fantastic management team at City Market as the planning for a future expansion continues. We are happy to hear from our members; you are invited to attend our monthly Board meetings on the 4^th Mondays of each month (always posted in Coop’s entryway). When it comes time for the Board to vote “yea” or “nay” on any new real estate purchase, we are confident we will have a solidly researched, financially responsible, thoughtful proposal that will serve our members and our community well.