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 this report and in following weeks, we will highlight Columinate consultants working as managers on contract. After an introduction, here we highlight Wynston Estis and her work at Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Market in San Diego. 

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 all 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 GM 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.

Wynston Estis at Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Market

Wynston Estis served as Manager on Contract for Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Market for over eight months beginning in 2022, and has subsequently continued supporting the co-op’s new GM, Sarela Bonilla. Previously, this fifty-year-old co-op in San Diego had been in decline and needed help.

I have great expectations that this co-op will be serving its community for many years and decades to come.

Estis says, “I was on site for eight months working with the staff and board of directors. Sales had been declining for years due to a failed expansion into the restaurant business and weak performance from the general manager. When I arrived, the co-op had a very tight cash situation and declining sales for the last several years. Cash on hand was enough to cover accounts payable, but with ongoing losses from monthly operations the cash was going to be exhausted before the end of the year. It was urgent to get a handle on profitability and, if possible, find some cash to add to the balance sheet while we worked on improving operations and growing sales.

“After a few meetings with the board, the decision was made to sell the restaurant property as a means of raising working capital. I also had to revitalize the marketing department, reorganize the finance department, and make management changes in the deli and grocery department. Through the sale of the restaurant, a successful application for EIDL loans, and greatly improved systems in marketing and finance, the co-op was able to end its year with $3 million more in cash than when I arrived. We were also able to give staff long overdue raises and develop a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. That was the first time in several years that the co-op had a budget to work from.

“I still consult with their new general manager. Sarela Bonilla is a delight and so talented, and I have great expectations that this co-op will be serving its community for many years and decades to come.”

Sarela Bonilla (pictured left), general manager at Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Market, was mentored by Columinate’s Wynston Estis. Bonilla, the new Ocean Beach GM, added:

“When Wynston arrived at our co-op, we were in pretty severe need—in need of post-COVID reopening direction, financial understanding and clarity, organizational restructuring, and honestly, we needed hope. Our co-op had been around for 50 years, and unfortunately not a lot had changed for us in those 50 years. From operations to our board, we only had a small idea of the undertaking we were about to embark on with Wynston.

“From day one, we started working on the big stuff, understanding our cash and overall financial position, planning the restructure of our finance department, grocery department, and an overhaul on our marketing department. We were able to invest in our staff and reinvest in our aging building, and we began to put money in the bank.

“I was lucky enough to work with Wynston side by side for the nine months we had her onsite. I can say in total honesty, I was not prepared to be the general manager then, and I would not be the general manager today—and I have a strong sense that our co-op’s doors would be closed today—had Wynston not taken every opportunity to expose me and our co-op to a better way of operating. People’s Co-op exists because we have a committed community of employees and owners, and we will continue to exist because we took the insights, direction, and support from Wynston—support she continues to provide to us today.”