Weyburn Co-operative shareholders gathered at McKenna Hall May 12 to enjoy a sit-down meal with friends, family along with employees and executive of the Co-op to listen to speakers discuss the annual report.
President Henry Jones welcomed everyone to the yearly gathering of Co-op faithful to listen to how well their stores have performed.
"I am pleased to present this report on behalf of the Board of Directors," Jones opened with. "The board is a dedicated group of individuals that ensure decisions fall within the guidelines of the Co-op's Mission Statement, which is to improve the economic position of member owners by providing goods and services within a socially responsible, financially sound, environmentally and responsible cooperative structure."
Those in attendance learned that in the last 10 years the Weyburn Co-op membership has increased by 10 per cent. "This is very positive considering our population base and the high percent of residents are already members, but here is the real story, average member purchases increased from $3,560 to $6,120," Jones proudly reported.
The Weyburn Co-op currently has seven locations to serve you; Suds City, Metro Centre, Expressions, Cardlock, Crossroads, Food store and the gas bar at the food store location.
"Plans are underway to renovate Suds City this year, which will include additional pumps, a stand alone 2-bay touchless car wash and adding an additional 3,000 square feet to the C-Store to accommodate more food choices," Jones said.
Jones finished his portion of the report by telling the crowd, "The Board of Directors decides how much cash will be paid to the Co-op members each year. The breakdown of the allocations for the past year are as follows: Food 3.0%; Pharmacy 3.0%; Bulk Fuel 5.5%; Gas Bar Operations 5.5%; Home Centre 1.5%; Fashions 1.5%. A total of $2,135 million will be allocated to patronage with approximately $1,370 million returned to the membership with equity cheques and statements to be distributed to the membership in June.
An equity cap has been established at $10,000; members with $10,000 equity receive 100% of their allocation back in cash. A payout of equity may be made upon application and Board of Directors approval if: a member passes away, a member reaches 65 years of age or the member moves out of the trading area.
General Manager Don Kraft had his turn to speak to the gathering by saying, "It is with great pleasure that I present the Manager's Report this evening on another successful year. We not only saw real growth in most commodities but also increased profit and equity to the membership. The success of this year is certainly due to several factors.
First, our staff worked very hard to provide service to the membership, which exceeds expectations. There are times due to circumstances beyond our control that we do fall slightly short. However, we must continue to focus on the 90% of the times when we do things right. However; the problems that we dealt with are much less than 10% of the project and the successes we had far surpasses the 90%. Then again my special thanks to our staff to making sure that they focus on the 90%.
We also recognize the extra efforts and going above the call of duty that our staff do for us."
"This year we did not spend much efforts on facilities, constructions, or renovations. We concentrated more on marketing. We had some very exciting marketing programs this past year, which increase sales and provided additional benefits to the membership. We were also very involved with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders last year assisting them in celebrating their 100th anniversary. That, coupled with some special products including the only available at Co-op Fantuz Flakes making this partnership a great success for both us and the Riders," Kraft said.
