Teaching your staff and customers how to get the most value from the produce they buy If you are like most Americans, your shopping patterns - as well as your customers’ habits - have changed drastically in the past several weeks. More people are buying fresh produce to stay healthy, and for good reason: a diet that includes lots of fresh organic produce [...]
So much is changing so quickly right now, and our co-ops are uniquely positioned to serve our owners and community today, and be practical alternatives to 'business -as-usual' in the future. We don't have a crystal ball to see that future, but we can discuss together how our co-ops can have a larger role and how we can talk about our co-ops as important [...]
Creating a harmonious working relationship requires buy-in, transparency, clear boundaries of accountability and an openness to having some fun!
Make the most of your holiday merchandising space this season to delight shoppers, create a lush and generous ambiance and optimize sales.
It’s not just you: building a successful wine program comes with a certain intimidation factor. The holiday season can amplify the pressure, and your co-op members probably feel it, too. “People who don’t purchase wine as often might want to buy wine for Thanksgiving, and not know where to start,” says Samuel Vandegrift, an industry veteran with two decades of experience. Vandegrift is a [...]
Is your store prepared for an emergency? “It feels like an intimidating, and not immediately gratifying topic,” admits Mike Feiner - Safety, Security, and Loss Prevention Consultant, ”and that’s precisely why it’s important.” Considering your operation’s safety doesn’t have to be intimidating. “Think of preparation as your fire extinguisher,” Feiner adds, “It’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and [...]
We’ve been in the “new normal” long enough to not call it “new” anymore. Despite pressure from competition and rising minimum and livable wages, co-ops continue to work to be the employer of choice in their communities and to offer great compensation packages. We all know efficiencies are the main way we can afford to stay competitive, but other than just asking staff to [...]
Everybody loves a great dinner party, especially when we take things outdoors and make it a picnic. Deliciousness needn’t be hard. Your member-owners are looking to make great food with excellent beverage pairings, so help raise basket totals while improving engagement! Become the place for wine and beer with these simple, yet effective ideas for cross merchandising: Sangria Central in Produce: Out of department [...]
Seward Community Co-op Minneapolis, MN Year founded: 1972 Member investment: $75 Number of members: 20,000 Number of employees: 270 Locations: Franklin and Friendship grocery stores, cafe, production kitchen, administrative offices Ray Williams is Seward Community Co-op’s operations manager and recognizes that even though the co-op has achieved a lot over the years, especially in terms of growing its operations and diversifying staff and leadership, [...]
Nothing stings more than public criticism, and the longer it’s sustained, the more damaging it can be to an organization’s reputation. Especially when, despite everyone’s best intentions, something goes wrong, or people are upset about something. In today’s wired world, the opportunities for people to share their impressions online have grown exponentially, sometimes amplifying negative word of mouth. It can easily become a chronic [...]