The CBLD template Financial Conditions policy and sample report suggest that boards and managers regularly monitor a number of key indicators of financial health. Here are definitions and/or formulas for many of those indicators as they are typically used by food co-ops. Using common definitions makes it easier to compare your co-op’s performance to others. Many of these metrics are expressed as a % [...]
By Holly Fearing 185 July-Aug 2016 Picture this: A person stands on the platform of a train station, and as a train passes through the station she flashes a bright message, hoping everyone on the train will see it. On a second train, as it passes to the next station there’s also a person inside each of the train cars giving the people in [...]
As the competitive environment continues to heat up around us, there is increased competition for employees as well as food dollars. By creating a continuously improving workplace environment where all voices are heard and feedback is taken seriously, co-op managers can help ensure that the competition doesn't lure away your talented, passionate and experienced employees. Become a Better Employer An Employee Survey can [...]
By Mel Braverman, Nicole Klimek, Jeanie Wells 184 May-June 2016 In the back of our minds we knew that [insert name of competitor here] was coming. It was only a matter of time before grocery chains would notice our happy piece of the natural foods pie. Co-ops are feeling squeezed, and it hurts. Increased competition may limit our profitability but may also limit our [...]
By Nicole Klimek, Joy Rust 184 May-June 2016 As competition creeps up to #1 on the “food co-op worry list,” many co-ops find themselves wondering how they can combat declining sales while not investing an arm and a leg in store labor and operations. Taking a look at the changing marketplace, we notice that many of the major players in the natural foods industry [...]
By Carolee Colter, Lauren Olsen, Marilyn Scholl 183 Mar-Apr 2016 It takes a lot to manage a food co-op. Co-op general managers (GMs) are responsible not only for the retail operations but also for budgeting, financial analysis, marketing, information technology, and human resources—functions that are provided by corporate headquarters to managers of chain stores. Co-op GMs, in addition to the demands of the business, [...]
By Michael Healy 182 January-February 2016 As a director, you may notice or hear things about your co-op that may be cause for concern—or are at least worth asking about. How can you respond in a way that honors your sense of responsibility, your board’s clear delegation to the general manager (GM), and your GM’s professional judgment? Here is an approach that opens [...]
Increasingly intense and sustained competition in our market is shifting the landscape in which co-ops operate, putting a premium on certain key competencies and skills in management. At the same time, other factors are making the GM job more complex and demanding, including: pressure on prices and margin, increasing costs of real estate and development, and calls for a living wage at a time [...]
For the first time since chain natural food stores rose to prominence in the 1990s, natural food grocery stores have lost market share to conventional competition. The golden era of runaway growth for natural food grocers may become a thing of the past as a variety of competitors have figured out how to effectively sell and merchandise “natural.” This puts enormous pressure on both [...]
By Mary Myers, Walden Swanson 042 September - October - 1992 This is the third in a series of articles based on Business Planning For Cooperatives, a manual published by Cooperative Development Services that provides step by step Instructions for writing business plans. This manual is based on the principles of systems analysis, which recommend an analysis of each of a retail co-op's key [...]
