We are excited to announce that we are exploring a possible opportunity to expand our current store’s footprint. Thanks to your support, our co-op has grown rapidly over the last four years, It’s important that we proactively plan for the future and that includes recognizing our current and future space constraints. Although we don’t know yet if this project is possible, we want to let you know now & solicit your feedback along the way.
Background
Our co-op’s almost doubling of sales since we opened in 2013 has been extremely positive. It has also allowed us to sell more local products and support more local farmers, offer more healthy food choices, and increase our donations to community causes each year. This growth has led us to almost double the number of staff who work at our co-op, for whom we have been able to increase both wages and benefits.
However, our growth has caused space constraints, most noticeably in the back of the store where staff work. For example, we have already moved our Marketing and Finance departments off-site due to lack of space. It has been very challenging for staff at times. Space constraints are less noticeable on the retail floor, but there are early signs of it there too.
We think our store is pretty great just as it is now, but by being proactive and creating more space now, the customer experience will not decline and become as challenging as it has become for staff. In order to continue serving our growing number of member-owners and shoppers, we need to consider an expansion of some sort — after all, our co-op’s purpose is to serve our community’s needs.
A larger store could help us address existing and future space constraints. It could also improve our selection of local and organic offerings, and improve our purchasing power, which would likely lower our cost of goods and result in further reduced pricing.
Research
Thank you to everyone who answered questions regarding expansion in our 2015 Shopper Email Survey, and last spring’s survey at our registers!
Your contributions informed a market study we commissioned to explore ways to better serve our community. While our current store does have some site limitations, we could best serve our existing shoppers and meet our Ends Statements by considering an on-site expansion if viable. We are working with National Co-op Grocers’ store-expansion team, Monadnock Economic Development Corporation and others to explore our options.
Is On-Site Expansion Feasible?
We have not determined this yet — we are still in the initial exploration phase of this project. There are many factors to consider and we need to gather input from many sources.
Details of Proposed Plan
Our current vision is to expand into the space on the east side of our building, and add about 4,000 to 6,000 square feet of space (for reference, our current sales floor is 8,000 square feet). The draft plan we are exploring will also create another 20-30 additional parking spaces that would sufficiently support the project, but to be clear, it may not solve all our parking constraints.
The Timing is Right
If we do not explore an expansion of some kind, we risk having crowded shopping conditions for you, and crowded working conditions for our staff, as our shopper base continues to grow. As we mentioned earlier, we have already moved some Admin staff off-site in order to accommodate our growth, and have added vertical storage space in every available location. It is essential to research and carefully plan for our co-op’s future while we have a possible option.
We applied for a Community Development Block Grant to assist in financing this project at the end of 2017, and will hear the results of that in early 2018.
Options for Member-Owner Input
