The Co-op Food Stores of New Hampshire and Vermont

added 07/26/10

by Kay Litten
Board President

In my mind, and in the minds of many of our members, the Hanover Consumer Co-operative Society is “Number One.” But that is not true. We are the second largest grocery co-op in the United States. Puget Consumers’ Co-op, better known as PCC, has nine stores in the Seattle region and annual sales in 2009 of almost $148 million. The annual sales of the Hanover Consumer Co-operative Society in 2009 were shy of half that amount. The Adamant Co-op in Adamant, Vermont, was founded in August, 1935, and the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society was founded in December, 1936. We are not the biggest in sales nor the oldest; we are Number Two in both categories.

Despite the facts cited above, I believe, “We Try Harder!” Some of you will remember when the car rental agency Avis launched its ad attacks on the number one car rental agency Hertz with the slogan, “We’re Number 2! We Try Harder!” Well, I believe that it is not our place as number two historically nor financially that makes us what we are, but the fact that our management and employees really do try harder to give us the store the members desire.

There are those among us who lament that we are not the Hanover Co-op they joined in 1954 or 1962 or l975 or 1986 or even in 1999 when my husband and I moved here and joined even before we bought a house. But, we are constantly evolving to become better. We do not necessarily want to become bigger, either, but bigger happens, often when one least expects it.

Let’s look at our latest example of bigger – our new Co-op Food Store in White River Junction, Vermont. We now have stores in two states. Even those in Co-op management and on your Co-op Board find it hard to believe that the latest version of the Hanover Co-op opened up on June 23 this year.

It is true that Co-op management had looked at the possibility of opening a store in the former P&C space in Bradford, Vermont, but that did not happen. Nonetheless, the investigative work done for that site proved invaluable when the possibility of leasing the location of the former P&C in White River Junction occurred. All of the price-checks and local market studies applied to this site as well as to the Bradford store. Management had much of its homework done. This store would be in our very own local region, and we would be serving many folks who were already members and regular Hanover Co-op shoppers. It seemed too good to be true.

There are members who felt very left out of the decision-making process involved in opening this store; many of them would have voted to go ahead, but felt unconsulted – not the essence of what they believe being members of a cooperative is all about. However, the reality of doing business in 2010, despite our challenged national economy, precludes a membership vote when management has two weeks to scope a site and sign a lease before the option is taken from them and offered to someone else. Timing is of the essence in these moves. So only about six weeks after the signing of the lease for the Maple Street property in White River Junction, a fourth Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society grocery store opened. The Board of the Co-op was unanimous in its support for management to go ahead with a White River Junction Co-op.

This was not a planned event. This was a business opportunity which we could not pass up. This store will serve present members and enlarge our membership. It will bring a full-service grocery store of superior quality to a town which lacked one. In the first five days, sales were over $143,000. We believe this figure supports our move, and we look forward to getting to know this community of shoppers and staff as we work together to make this the store that this community wants.

This store opening was not easy to accomplish in merely six weeks. But our staff try harder; they were determined to make this happen from the beginning, and with the help of former P&C employees they brought forth a new store in record time. The man-hours and the commitment of all staff – former P&C, Hanover Co-op, and new employees – reflect the determination of this organization to bring its members and shoppers what they most want.

Join me in visiting our latest store to welcome new employees as well as to visit some of the folks who have moved to the White River Junction store from our stores in Hanover or Lebanon or the Community Market. And take a moment to chat with the former P&C employees to note how delighted they are with their new store and their new employer. And make suggestions of how you think this store can be improved, because it is evolving as I write and will be different by the time you read this.

At the same time that I insist that, “We try harder,” I suggest you also visit the Upper Valley Food Co-op across the bridge in White River Junction from our new store. Both the Board and management of the Hanover Co-op worked very closely with the Board and the management of our sister co-op to be sure that each store could maintain its unique share of the grocery business in White River Junction. This commitment to “Cooperation among cooperatives” is one of the Seven Cooperative Principles established by the International Cooperative Alliance. We hope you will rejoice with us in our new store and the fine job our employees do in bringing co-ops to you, our members and shoppers, in four locations. We are Number One among grocery stores in the Upper Valley. We may be Number Two nationwide, but We Try Harder!