The Â鶹´«Ã½AVland Cooperative Ltd and Lafleche Co-operative Association will be amalgamating on January 29, 2017.
Both Co-ops held membership meeting to adopt the resolution on the amalgamaÂtion. The Lafleche Co-op held a meeting of its members on November 22 in LaÂfleche and accepted the resolution.
The Â鶹´«Ã½AVland Co-op’s members met on November 23 in Assiniboia and voted in the resolution. Both meetings adopted the resolution by narrow margins — just above the two-thirds present needed to pass the motion.
The decision takes effect on January 29. For the average shoppers at any of the two Co-op service centres, little will change. It was important for both Co-ops that local staff remain in place, although functions may shift. Local sponsorships of community activities remain in place. There will be some changes to memberÂships. For example, Lafleche Co-op will be adopting Â鶹´«Ã½AVland’s equity and govÂernance policies.
Pat Piche, president of Â鶹´«Ã½AVland Co-op board, chaired the Assiniboia meeting. Prior to the voting, Â鶹´«Ã½AVland Co-op manÂager Ken Bahuaud presented background to the merger and answered questions. He also addressed concerns from the memÂbership about staffing, equity and benefits.
The Lafleche Co-op board approaching Â鶹´«Ã½AVÂland’s board in August with the merger idea initiated the amalgamation. Several reasons were cited for amalÂgamating such as shrinking profit margins, the increased competition for skilled and qualified employees, and the need to boost volumes to continue to supply products and services.
Â鶹´«Ã½AVland sees the merger as a good fit because both Co-ops share a similar business model. Furthermore, Â鶹´«Ã½AVland already does considerable trading in the Lafleche area. Bahuaud stated that the adÂvantage for Â鶹´«Ã½AVland is that it will be able to unify the trading area.
The Lafleche and Â鶹´«Ã½AVland Co-ops together allocated more than $1.9 milÂlion in equity and cash-back to members last year. For the cooperatives, the merger means future growth and sustainability. If all goes well with the merger, statistics from previous amalgamations of other Co-ops in the province shown an increase in equity and other benefits. The combined Â鶹´«Ã½AVland and Lafleche Co-ops will have 6,977 active members, $27.4 million in assets, 172 employees and 10 locations in 5 communities. The services being offered include lumber and hardware, petroleum, card lock and proÂpane, farm equipment and grain bins, feed and twine, oil and grease, food, confecÂtionary, liquor and pharmacy.