By Patricia Cumbie 179 July-August 2015 Food cooperatives have a special relationship with their owners and customers, but even the best relationships need to be continually nurtured and cultivated. In a rapidly changing marketplace, one in which skillful competitors can outstrip other grocers on price, convenience, and amenities, customer loyalty is king. And consumers these days are notoriously fickle. A generation ago, people [...]
No matter what kind of expansion your co-op wants to do, there are always hurdles to be overcome. Everyone has them, although some projects come with a unique set of challenges. The Hendersonville Community Co-op in Hendersonville, North Carolina has had numerous locations and expansions in its 30+ year history, but their latest expansion going from 3,800 to 8,000 square feet, required a re-working [...]
Understand how accountable empowerment of the board and general manager works in practice.
Since River Valley Market in Northampton, Mass. opened seven years ago, the co-op has been in a continual growth cycle. Current president of the board, Dorian Gregory, said that when the co-op opened they’d hoped it would be a success. By all accounts, the cooperative has outstripped projections, and now she said, “The question for the board is what is our co-op’s vision for [...]
“Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” -- Thomas Jefferson “You have to remember one thing about the will of the people: it wasn't that long ago that we were swept away by the Macarena.” -- Jon Stewart Why screen and nominate? Screening and nominating candidates makes sense. More and more, co-op boards are recognizing that finding [...]
By Thane Joyal, Jeanie Wells 178 May-June 2015 Whether or not your cooperative expects to hire a general manager (GM) in the next year, your board should have an awareness of the skills and resources that would be needed to accomplish this essential task. Even if your GM is doing great and has no expressed plans for retirement or other career changes, your board [...]
