Your co-op, October 2002

Co-op finances

Although the second quarter (that ended in June) is by now well behind us, we want to share with everyone in the PCC community that our cooperative continued to produce very positive financial results through the mid-point of our year.

In spite of being surrounded by a weak economy with many businesses contracting, our sales were 11 percent over their level at the same time a year ago. That is a very large increase and one we should all be proud of, as it reflects a great deal of work to deliver the satisfying experience on every shopping trip that convinces our customers to keep coming back for more.

Not only did sales — the primary driver of every retail business — grow from last year to this, but the amount we were able to push to the bottom line was up substantially as well. This is extremely important in providing the funds that support the co-op in its growth plans, enabling us to look for new and sometimes larger store locations to better accommodate our growing membership and customer base.

We generated a solidly positive year in 2001, so it’s particularly pleasing to see us doing even better in 2002, taking advantage of the improvements and practices that were put in place successfully last year.

We expect the third quarter will level off somewhat due simply to food sales being a little softer through the summer (with vacations, lighter eating patterns, and gardens coming into production), but the combined efforts of each PCC staff member have likely built the momentum that should carry us through that quarter and into the usually much stronger fall and holiday seasons.

Thank you shoppers and staff for your consistent and excellent efforts every day that have made these good results to date possible. We look forward to completing the second half of the year with continued positive results.
— Tracy Wolpert, CEO, and Randy Lee, CFO

Bag reuse donation report

Every time we use one of our own full-size bags to carry our groceries home, one cent is donated to the Farmland Fund and to Cash for the Hungry, PCC’s program with local food banks. This applies to paper, plastic, and cloth bags, backpacks, wheeled carts, or any container that conserves resources.

The bag reuse donation has been in effect since November 2000 due to overwhelmingly positive response to a month-long shopper survey. So far in 2002 we’ve raised $5,982 through bag reuse, $2,991 each for Cash for the Hungry and the Farmland Fund.

Mention your wishes to the cashier to ensure your donation is counted. If you need a durable cotton canvas bag that’s good for continual reuse, look for the one printed with the PCC logo or check out the Farmland Fund tote.