A
Director's Chair:
Where are we?
by Lynne
Lekakis
What’s the
first thing that people say after hello while talking on a cell phone?
“I’m on
the train, we just passed the toll booth, or I’m on line at the Co-op,
etc.” Where
we are has taken on a new meaning. We used to wonder where our
children, spouses
and friends were. Not so any longer — now we just call them and ask.
Where
are we? That’s
a good question. In 2003 we underwent the first round of our strategic
planning
process, which included a “visioning” piece. It was empowering to spend
an
entire day thinking out loud about what we would like the Co-op to be.
Many
ideas were considered: a large demo kitchen, an adequate meeting room,
a full
service deli and even a garden plot next to the outdoor café
seating.
At that
time, we decided we wanted a stronger education component to the Co-op.
That
was something that was manageable in our current space, and felt to be
important by everyone who attended on many different levels. It took
three
years (Co-op time), but we now have an education coordinator to carry
out that
important role in conjunction with our outreach and marketing
endeavors. Our
facilities haven’t changed, so she’s had to approach it differently
than if we
were in a larger location, but we still strive to bring the message of
healthier, whole foods and lifestyles to the membership and beyond.
Subsequent
visioning activities have led to some collective decisions. We want to
be a
bigger store. We are not talking about a mega-store, or a restaurant,
an apartment
complex, or a farm. Specifically, we are talking about a store around
twice the
size of the one we have, carrying similar things in or around the
central part
of the city of Albany, New York. When
that vision seemed difficult
to attain, it was time for a revised vision. We decided, if
appropriate, to
consider a second store, though we were still committed to our first
vision, of
an “anchor” store in Albany.
We envisioned cloning ourselves, but when our first ideally sized store
came to
be a reality.
Where are
we now? Rolling with the punches, we’ve had several real opportunities
in our Central Avenue
corridor these past six months, none of which are completely out of the
question or yet realized. We got close enough to draft a letter to you
for a
membership meeting to present a deal, but the deal came to an impasse
and a new
plan has just begun negotiation. We continue to look at our options,
run
numbers and work toward the vision. We are lucky to have good advocates
in our
lending institutions, architects, realtor and the Central Avenue BID.
The city
has also been helpful in identifying urban locations for us to remain
in Albany,
and they have even
brought a few off-the-market sites to our attention.
As we
continue to work toward securing our new store, or looking for a second
one,
it’s time again to vision. We collected some input from the member
dinner (thank
you for all your hard work!) and are using it as a starting point for
another retreat
in January or February. We don’t know what the changes will bring or
which
competitor, large or small, may come to the area. We don’t know what
conventional markets bringing in national natural foods products will
do to our
everyday business. What we do know is what we do well, and we’re
working on doing
that better. Our sales are strong this year, and we will be profitable,
all in
a very challenging environment.
So, where
are we? Right here, serving up excellent groceries, fresh produce,
health and
body aids, cheese, meat and specialty items from a well-trained,
educated staff
and looking forward to sharing first steps of realizing our vision.
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