Thankful For Membership

John Tashiro, General Manager

It’s hard for me to believe that our Annual Member Meeting was just a few weeks ago! Thinking back to last year, we were excited with over 400 people attending the gathering at Memorial Auditorium. This year we were thrilled that over 500 of you joined us (a 20% increase) at a new venue this year, ECHO. While the slight time change and the venue change added some challenges, our Co-op staff planned meticulously, and as the evening unfolded the atmosphere truly felt electric! I walked around the different floors seeing Members old and new engaged in great conversation, kids and adults alike enjoying the various ECHO activities and everyone tucking into our tasty food. Due to some issues beyond our control, we were sorry that some of you were not able to access the room to hear Board candidates, an overview of the last year’s success, and the Q&A session. Our Member Matt Cropp videotaped these events and you can find them on our website here: http://www.citymarket.coop/member-meeting.

In case you missed it, here are some highlights:

Sales and Membership Growth

Thank you as we now have more than 11,600 incredibly passionate and supportive Members!! Your purchases generated close to 70% of the store’s $41 million in annual sales last fiscal year, driving much of the +5% growth. Local products made up close to 40% of sales and grew by 8%. Members volunteered over 17,000 hours across our 19 non-profit partner organizations. Customers donated over $137,000 through our Rally for Change program! The Co-op is thriving and continues to make a huge impact in the community, all because of you the Members and your unbelievable commitment!

Committed Staff

Much happens behind the scenes that enables the Co-op to be so successful and such a great place to work. We employ over 230 great people that are truly amazing and work tirelessly to go the extra mile to help make your Co-op experience as enjoyable as possible. We pay a livable wage and have great benefits and we are always looking at ways to continuously improve.

Expansion Progress

We announced plans for the South End last June and here we are 16 months later waiting to finally receive approval for our construction permits from the City. We should have more news shortly! Should all go smoothly construction will begin in November or December, keeping us on schedule to open by October 2017. The South End store will have more customer space than the downtown location, 14,000 square feet vs. 12,000 square feet. The South End store will feature amenities like a teaching kitchen, a spacious café, community meeting spaces, a childrens’ discovery garden and a larger parking lot. We anticipate hiring 100 new staff members and we’ll continue to offer great customer service and a broad selection of products to best serve you, our Members and the broader community.

In further expansion news, I presented a recommendation about our Old North End (ONE) plans to our Board in October. This recommendation reviewed our extensive due diligence with financial data and estimates of associated expenses and store sales for a potential ONE store, the South End store and their impacts with our current downtown store. In light of the significant financial investment, time and resources needed to successfully open the South End store, the Board authorized my recommendation to “hold and assess” the ONE site. This means that we will hold the ONE site by paying rent on it until the spring of 2018. At that point we will assess our South End store performance and see whether it makes sense to move forward with ONE store development. I recognize and share the tremendous level of Member enthusiasm and support for a ONE store. However, the initial transition from one to two stores is something that many co-ops have struggled with and we need to ensure we’re doing this well before committing to further expansions. Rest assured that we are doing everything we can to successfully establish the South End store so we can progress with expansion in the ONE.  

Board Elections

Not enough can be said about our 9 current Board Members who have been incredibly generous with their time, dedicating well over 60 hours annually through monthly Board meetings, strategic retreats, special sessions and attending Co-op events and regional and national conferences. Their significant contributions ensure that the General Manager and the entire organization adhere to our governance policies and deliver on the Co-op’s mission through our Global Ends. I value their views and guidance, and feel so fortunate to be working with such talented and dedicated people who always have the best interest of the Co-op at heart.

This October, we had 9 board candidates running for 4 board seats (3 three-year terms and 1 two-year term). I sincerely appreciated the high quality of candidates and their deep interests in the Co-op, and as such the voting was indeed close. Based on the election results, I would like to welcome the following Board Members who will continue or start new terms in January: Julia Curry, Eric Boehm, Sarah Alexander and Jennifer Kennelly. You can read more about these Board Members on our website here: http://www.citymarket.coop/elections-2016.

Last, but certainly not least, the Thanksgiving holidays will be quickly upon us. As in previous years, we strive to meet all your festive food fare needs from local turkeys and the assortment of traditional side dishes to delicious vegetarian, vegan and other dietary alternatives that celebrate this wonderful holiday with family and friends!

As always, thank you for your tremendous support as we continue to make every effort to listen and serve you, our Members and the community, in the very best way we can.