Often in business, success is measured by numbers and metrics. That’s certainly how the value of a company is determined, and why so much attention is placed on financial reports and quarterly earnings.
At PCC, we operate under a triple bottom line — including but not limited to our financial impact — and we, too, use data to measure if we’ve achieved our social, environmental and financial goals.
But the truth is, the real measure of an organization is what happens outside the metrics. It’s the things that often can’t be measured that are equally impactful, like how we treat each other, what we stand for, who we support and where we focus our energy.
This, our second Co-op Purposes Report, uses data to clearly state our goals and demonstrate our impact. But it also speaks to our values, and the things we focus on that may not always show up in the numbers. For the first time, this report shares the impact PCC has across each of our bottom lines in one place and, for our social and environmental efforts, provides measurable goals. In clearly stating and sharing these goals, we aspire to be more accountable to our members and shoppers.
In this report, we also strive to demonstrate our values at work in the real world. When you read the story of Pure Éire Dairy in Othello, Washington, I know you’ll agree that PCC’s partnership to produce our private-label yogurt with this family-owned, organic, grass-fed, animal welfare-certified dairy will positively impact each of our co-op’s bottom lines.
Pure Éire is just one of many highlights from the year. We also continued our long tradition of giving back to the communities we serve, increasing access to organic and natural products, and successfully operating our co-op in an increasingly competitive market.
We also worked with our union to enhance our long-standing commitment to our staff. We’re proud that we could increase wages across all staff levels and ensure that our co-op will continue to offer outstanding benefits to all staff who work 28 hours a week or more.
We held the co-op’s first all-staff meetings in our stores to create a stronger bond and more open communications with our staff members. We hosted food-packing parties for local food banks, and we worked tirelessly to keep the conversation around food transparency alive in the face of changes at the federal level. I hope you find in this report many examples and stories that reinforce that PCC continues to live its values.
And for those interested in the numbers and data, I highlight three accomplishments:
• We returned $7.3 million to our members, community and staff, and retained $3.4 million in net income, totaling 3.9% of net sales, for our co-op.
• We expanded Field Day, our line of pocketbook-friendly organic and non-GMO pantry staples (like extra virgin olive oil, beans, crackers, pasta and sauces, and broth). In turn, we helped our members and shoppers save more than $950,000 in 2017.
• We finished our year with $275.5 million in sales, down 0.4% from 2016, with same store sales up 1.7% — quite an accomplishment considering we closed our West Seattle store for redevelopment in May 2017.
Of course, the measure of our co-op’s success is not the accumulation of numbers and data within this report. The real test is when you, and members and shoppers like you, choose PCC. My hope is that what you see here helps you make that decision, each time you shop, with confidence.
– Cate Hardy, PCC Community Markets CEO