Financial Report

By Elka Malkis

The third quarter (January through March) at the Wedge Co-op was a rollicking ride. Sales at the store were up 10% over last year. This was due primarily to increased customer count: while the average transaction was up to $32.17 from $31.05, the average daily customer count went from 2467 per day to 2590 - that's 123 more customers per day.

Let's look a little deeper into some of these numbers. On March 31, 2008, we had 13,499 active members. For the fiscal year to date (July 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008) members accounted for 63.4% of all transactions and 76.1% of total purchases. This means that the average basket size for a member was $36.65. By contrast, non-members accounted for 36.6% of transactions and 23.9% of purchases. The average basket size for a non-member was only $19.97.

All of which poses, to me, a chicken and egg question: Are the shoppers who spend more ($36.65 per trip on average) more likely to become members? Or, does becoming a member increase a shopper's sense of loyalty (ownership!) to the Co-op with the result that he/she then decides to shift purchases to the Co-op?

Interestingly, these percentages of sales to members are reversed at our other business. Do all of you reading this know that the Wedge has an online store: www.wedgeworldwide.coop? This online fair-trade gift and personal care site has been in existence since October 2006 (18 months as of this writing). Through March 31, 2008, we've had 931 separate sales. Of those, 411 were from addresses in Minnesota and 520 were from other states. Also, only 206 sales (22.1%) were to members; 725 (77.9%) were to nonmembers. Did you know that purchases made at Wedge Worldwide count toward your patronage refund? We also offer pick-up at the store for only $3.00 - no other shipping charges apply.

I mention all of this because, although sales at Wedge Worldwide increased this quarter by 283% over last year, we still have not quite turned a profit with the online store. We are keeping our costs very low (I believe the term is "barebones"); we just need volume.

Other items from the interesting numbers file are: Aside from Wedge Worldwide, the department with the lowest percent of transactions to members is the Juice Bar (47.2%). The department with the highest is Fish and Seafood (77.6%), closely followed by Meat (74.1%) and Floral (72.5%).