At its upcoming membership meeting in November, the Greenbelt Co-op Supermarket and Pharmacy (Co-op) will be reporting a financial loss for fiscal year 2019 which ended on July 31. Co-op Treasurer Joe Timer describes this reality as troubling and disappointing. According to Timer, this financial shortfall is the third in the last six years and, according to a November 15, 2018, News Review article, the seventh in the last 10 years. For fiscal year 2018, the Co-op reported a $38,645 loss which meant, according to the article, that the board was unable to add to employee retirement accounts, give employees bonuses or pay patronage dividends, though the board was able to increase staff wages and salaries. How did the fiscal year 2019 shortfall, which, according to Timer, could be as high as $100,000, happen? What are the Co-op board and management’s plans for improving the organization’s financial situation? What can Co-op members in particular and Greenbelt residents in general do to help?
Current Shortfall
Co-op management and board will not know the exact amount of the fiscal year 2019 loss until the records, a process expected to be completed by late October, but losses for 2019 will likely be in the $100,000 range. Interim data, according to Timer, indicate that Co-op’s 2019 sales will have decreased about 2.8 percent compared to the previous year. He expects that all departments, especially the pharmacy, will show a decrease in sales. A 2.8 percent decrease, Timer said, represents about $340,000 in sales. Timer explained that the Co-op “prices its groceries so that the store remains competitive with others, resulting in smaller gross margins to cover expenses.”
For more of this story, see the August 22 News Review.
