From the General Manager

By: Lindy Bannister, General Manager

Members may wonder about the impact of my 21 year career in conventional grocery on my view of business at the Wedge Co-op. I'll return to that in a moment, but first let's look at what we accomplished in the fiscal year that ended June 30.

$25,312,156 in sales at the store, an additional $4,982,823 in sales at Co-op Partners Warehouse, and a record Patronage Refund of $733,535, of which $560,000 will be in cash.

Our Financial Manager has all of the numbers in common sense language on page 4 of this issue, and all of those numbers are great. I'd like to look at what it takes to make those numbers happen. There are four concepts that explain our success: product, people, personal connections and passion.

Our Product- As members of the Wedge, I suspect you have strong visual images and sensory impressions of what we are. The awesome colorful variety of fresh fruits and vegetables you see upon entering the store, the gorgeous flowers, the smell of freshly squeezed orange juice, the delightful salads and hot table offerings at the Deli Counter - the tempting, mouthwatering desserts next to the Juice Bar - the blends and aroma of the juice and coffee bar - the presentation of seafood, chicken and meat - the home baked, glistening artisan breads and pastries and the distinct scents and artful arrangements in Health and Body Care. Our products touch all of our senses in many, many ways. We know that you trust us to bring you the safest, most wholesome product available.

Our People- What an incredible group of people- there aren't enough words to describe the people who bring you the business that you see. Talented, inspiring, committed, hardworking, focused, fun loving, caring, dedicated, playful, and thoughtful are a few that come to mind, and those words only start to describe the employees. I can't start with the list that describes the members I have met, only that you are just as much a part of the Wedge's success as we are that work here.

Personal Connections- Everyone wants to be a part of something, to be recognized. That's our goal, to make everyone feel like they are a part of the Wedge. I've heard the conversations. "Oh yes - I belong to the Wedge!" "Yes! I work at the Wedge!" "Well yes! I shop at the Wedge!" "I've belonged to the Wedge for years and now my kids shop at the Wedge!" "I travel from Chicago twice a year to keep my membership up at the Wedge!" "I've moved to Colorado, could you send me some of that seeded artisan bread that I can only find at the Wedge?"

Passion- There is no doubt in my mind that everyone who works and shops at the Wedge is passionate. We are passionate about our food. We are passionate about our community of vendors and farmers. We are passionate about food standards, organic and fair trade. We are passionate about giving back, about teaching, about working with the other co-ops in the area and throughout the country. Most importantly we are passionate about making sure that we continue to give all of our members the product and the service they expect from us. We work towards that every day.

All of these factors will continue to make us a strong business, which is here for our members and community all the time. How is this different from my past experience? It's huge! What we have at the Wedge is what conventional grocery stores strive for every day. They look to connect with the customer and find out what their needs are and market towards those needs. We think that we have the connection made and get to spend time working on the interesting parts of the business, to make a better world to live in. This past year has seen us work very hard with organic standards and fair trade. We are working on doubling the size of our warehouse to better serve the local producers and neighboring co-ops. We have committed time and hard work towards raising money for hurricane relief and our own WedgeShare program that gives back to businesses and organizations in our area. We are an HourCar hub because our employees very generously gave up one of the parking spots in their lot. Our membership in the National Co-op Grocers Association has strengthened co-op buying power throughout the country. It has also given our co-ops more visibility in an ever changing, very competitive future.

Our strength continues to be our ability to change with the times while staying true to our commitment to safe food, in a healthy and friendly environment. I am excited to see the industry trying to catch up with us. Educating the general public with the wealth of information at our fingertips regarding fabulous food (that also is good for us) is only a great thing. I look forward to the years ahead.