Columinate’s Manager on Contract and Interim General Manager services can be a game-changer for food co-ops and community-focused independent grocery retailers. In recent reports and in following weeks, we highlight Columinate consultants working as managers on contract. Featured here, following a summary of these programs, is Dennis Hanley, an experienced Manager on Contract.

The opportunities for utilizing a Manager on Contract fall into two broad categories: new store openings, and an operational tune-up or turnaround.

New store openings, especially startups: Opening a new store requires different experiences and skills than managing a store that is up and running. Columinate consultants serving as managers on contract can build and work with the local team and other professional support to manage the store through store opening—then hand off to the client’s long-term general manager a few months after store opening.

Management transition coupled with an operational tune-up or turnaround: Often alongside a manager transition comes an opportunity to identify and implement changes to strengthen store performance. The return on investment of having a Manager on Contract stems from Improved systems, team empowerment and development, and an updated retail strategy. Columinate’s grocery retail experts assess and identify opportunities for improvement, and because they are in a position of responsibility as manager, they can build alignment and implement changes needed for better store performance.

For new stores, Columinate support can begin with a consultative relationship early in the process, during the organizing stage when the vision for the store is first being created. Once implementation begins, Columinate’s Management on Contract services include:

• project management during the store design and build-out process;

• management during pre-opening, when store systems are developed and implemented;

• management during the critical opening stage, when the best available resources should be deployed to ensure the community experiences an exciting store;

• finally, management during the first few months of the new store operations.

An ideal time to hand over management responsibilities to the long-term general manager is when the store, team, and systems are stable.

That timing for hand-over of management applies as well in a store turnaround. In a single-store operation, the Manager on Contract typically serves as an Interim General Manager (IGM). In a multi-store setting, the role could be IGM or Store Manager. Sometimes the position is named Interim Turnaround Manager, and in longer engagements the role could be Contract General Manager. The common thread is that the engagement includes management responsibilities and authority to get stuff done.

Utilizing Columinate Manager on Contract experts can also go hand in hand with our GM Development and Training program and our GM hiring and search support.

There are many examples of interim management assistance, and each has its own circumstances and challenges. Columinate’s group of talented grocery experts are passionate about co-ops, especially successful ones! For more information about having a Manager on Contract during a manager transition or when planning to open a new store, contact Mark Goehring.

Dennis Hanley, Manager on Contract—and more

Dennis Hanley may have opened and managed more stores of various retail formats than anyone in the food co-op system. He has worked in most states in the U.S. and abroad. His grocery career of over forty years began in a family meat business as a youngster and never stopped.

Hanley’s first IGM engagement with Columinate was with the Niskayuna Co-op in upstate New York, following a Columinate assessment by Jeanie Wells and Brittany Baird that showed the board there was lots of opportunity for the co-op.

“We truly believe our store would not be open today without Dennis Hanley’s leadership. He has turned our co-op around, positioning us for success for years to come.”

—Sunny Lee and Sarah Bilofsky, Niskayuna Co-op co-presidents

Founded in 1937, the co-op had a long and rich history of serving its community but had been performing poorly in recent times. Hanley focused on refreshing the retail strategy, setting up a new supply contract, and developing and empowering the team—not to mention navigating the reality of operating a grocery store during a pandemic.

Sunny Lee and Sarah Bilofsky, co-presidents at Niskayuna Co-op, said, “We truly believe our store would not be open today without Dennis Hanley’s leadership. He has been relentless in keeping our team and customers safe during COVID—while making sure the shelves stay stocked. Our board of directors tasked Dennis with conducting a top-to-bottom review of the store. He delivered. From renegotiating key contracts to resetting the produce department, he has turned our co-op around, positioning us for success for years to come.”

Hanley’s next IGM engagement was with the Co-op Market in Fairbanks, Alaska.  While there, Hanley refreshed the team culture, filled open positions, and set the co-op up for success with a new local general manager. Supply chain issues have a special meaning (think $$) when the store is located in Alaska, and he handled an important supply issue with long-lasting impact while he was there.

“In 2021, while Dennis Hanley was IGM in Fairbanks, Alaska, he addressed and fixed an issue that had negatively impacted the co-op’s gross margin for the ten years since they opened. We had been recommending the change, but previous management either didn’t understand the positive impact or didn’t have the experience to see the long-term benefit of making the change. Dennis worked effectively with our team to implement the new measures,” said William Deal, National Co+op Grocers retail support director, Western Corridor.

Gem City Market

After a challenging first year of operation in 2022, the Gem City Market board of directors in Dayton, Ohio, contracted with Columinate and Dennis Hanley to design and implement a turnaround plan. He is now serving as long-term Manager on Contract. In June 2023, Food Co-op Initiative gave Gem City Market its Startup of the Year award.

“If not for Dennis’s strong all-around leadership and big, bold moves, we would not be here. That took a lot of industry knowledge and leadership skills. We appreciate Dennis and Columinate, particularly how bold Dennis as been in executing a vision for store. That would have been beyond the courage of most others.”

—Carrie Scarff, Gem City Market vice president

Hanley commented on this exciting engagement:

“Successful IGMs learn and assess the issues affecting poor performance and what the causes are in the operation. Understanding the capability of the team was so important in this situation; in Gem City Market there was no experience, and the team was afraid to take a risk. Positive re-enforcement builds up an inexperienced person to try, and they do. They learn how and what success is with someone guiding them and taking all the negative out of it.

“A retail strategy to compete to win is key. At Gem City Market, the driver in this community is fresh meat as well as fresh produce. The differentiation is not everything in perfect order, rather it is great prices on key items to wow the customers. Not only does a price of quality oxtails at $8.99/lb wow the customer, it gets the staff fired up, thus creating a vibe. It is placing the right people in the right spots to launch this kind of vibe.

“We are so proud of this vibe from our staff and community. It has delivered +49.8 percent comparative sales in the first 24 weeks of 2023, and the store has doubled sales in less than 18 months: from $37,000 to $75,000+ and is headed to break-even.”

This fall, with support from National Co+op Grocers, Hanley and the Gem City team are rolling out “Operation Refresh,” bringing the community the Wild Harvest line of organic products plus a new supply of grocery items at great prices.

“If not for Dennis’s strong all-around leadership and big, bold moves, we would not be here. That took a lot of industry knowledge and leadership skills. We appreciate Dennis and Columinate, particularly how bold Dennis as been in executing a vision for store. That would have been beyond the courage of most others,” said Carrie Scarff, vice president at Gem City Market.

Hanley is beginning an IGM engagement with Ozark Natural Foods. We can look forward to learning more about that co-op as well as progress on Gem City Market in the future.