Rural Co-op store evaluates sustainability

Times Contributor 

 

There will always be somewhere to shop for your groceries, but not necessarily where you want it to be. The local Co-op in Standard held a meeting to discuss its sustainability, and actually is looking at a number of options, including a possible closure.

With the influx of big box stores, peoples mobility and discount venues in larger centres the small town stores are going by the wayside if they cannot entice or provide the necessary services and variety of products to their residents at low or reasonable prices, and Standard is no different.

After a brief synopsis of the status of the Standard Co-op by current board members and the manager Frances Patterson, the floor was opened up for residents in and around the Standard area (most of whom are members in the cooperative) to ask questions and make suggestions to the current situation the Co-op faces.

Gerry Kroon (board member) said that the “viability of the store basically comes down to needing more business and higher prices in order to survive.” Manager Patterson actively checks the debt situation daily as well as pursues sales options with Federated Co-op, but gets stalemated when Federated can only fill inventory with minimum orders of products. Small stores unfortunately cannot keep up their amount of stock needed without it being a huge expenditure. Larger stores such as Sobeys, No Frills and Wal-Mart order large pallets of stock and sell it the same day because they have a huge pool of customers to draw from.

Options for the future were discussed. One option was to remain “status quo” which meant losing money, reducing inventory or basically running out of cash. The second option presented for consideration was the sale of the store, with a number of configurations discussed including selling the grocery and keeping the hardware.

While some people are pessimists and others are optimists, both sides were well represented at the meeting. 

Donna Christensen (Co-op member) suggested reducing the hours of shopping “because you aren’t going to reach new people anyway, keep who you already have and cater to their needs.” 

Some other members who have been involved with the Co-op in Standard since its inception, including Don Sundgaard, said that “now isn’t the time to quit. It is important that we advertise and investigate alternative sources to buy inventory from other than Federated.”

Brett Gates (local businessman and past board member of the Co-op) believes that the store can turn around and that Patterson is doing just that in many ways. “She is looking at adjusting inventory to reflect the sales, looking at case lot sales, examining every expense item and looking at adjusting their generous credit terms (ie. the pre-paid accounts) and keeping them current and up to date.” 

Gates brought the meeting’s attention back to the mandate of the store since its inception in 1974 to “provide a service to the community that otherwise wouldn’t be in town.”

Patterson would like email addresses from the Co-op members so she can keep them up to date and informed, not only of the status of the store, but also let them know about future sales and promotions. She can be emailed at stancoop@standardab.ca.

Just before the information meeting was concluded, it was discussed that the next steps or procedure to affect a possible sale of the store would be to call a member meeting with two weeks notice as per their constitution and that a motion must be carried with a 2/3 majority.

While some believed that nothing would change the outcome of any future changes, it was clear that if the Standard Co-op is to last another 39 years that it will take support from the entire community to make it a success.