The Imperative of Cooperative Growth

By Pat Burns, General Manager

Much has changed in the forty-plus years that co-ops like ours have been in business. We have slowly and deliberately grown in all areas – sales, members, square feet – but not simply for the sake of growing. There are outside influences felt by co-ops around the country that make us ask the question, “can we afford not to grow?”

Earlier this month Board president Molly O'Brien and I traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota for the annual NCGA General Assembly meeting. This meeting brings together all the General Managers of the co-ops that participate in the National Cooperative Grocers Association.

Normally this meeting is specific to a purchasing agenda and other operational issues that impact the member co-ops. For the first time, the organizers asked that the General Managers bring with them a Board representative.

The overriding theme of the meeting was preparing for growth. Prior to the meeting each board was asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their position on preparedness and potential for expansion. In opening the meeting Robin Schrader, president of NCGA, explained why there is so much interest in trying to grow the number of food co-ops in the United States.

It was not a presentation about “growth for growth's sake”. It was a much more straightforward, realistic talk about the long-term viability of our co-ops in the face of increased competition, not just from organic markets but also from traditional grocery stores that are starting to see the potential of organic and local products.

Simply put, if we don't continue to grow individually and if we don't continue to promote the growth of new co-ops, we will lose our market share that we’ve worked so hard to develop. This in turn will impact our ability to support the local vendors that rely on a co-op like City Market to help them succeed.

Fortunately the sales here at City Market continue to increase above our expectations and budget. This is good. As many of you know, we are pursuing a second location partly to relieve the congestion here but also to protect us from a different store coming in and reducing our sales.

The Board and the managers of City Market have been planning for growth and we are well positioned to move forward as opportunities arise. I want to thank all of our Members and the Board for the support they have shown us that will allow us to move forward in a well-measured and well-planned manner.