Fredericton Co-op store marks half a century in business

The Fredericton Co-op first opened its doors in 1974, and has only grown in membership since then.

More than 10,000 families now call themselves members, said store manager Paul King.

"We are here because of the support of our membership," he said.

King has worked in grocery stores since he was packing groceries as a 16-year-oldat a Co-op store in Labrador City.

"It's an amazing career," King says of his life in the grocery business, working his way up to store manager in Fredericton.

"It's a family. You believe in the format, you believe in what it does."

A Co-op store is no ordinary store. As a co-operative, only members can shop there by paying into the store and becoming a partial owner.

"If you become a member, you become an owner," King said.

Shoppers pay $10 to join, as well as two per centon all goods purchased until the sum reaches $1,000, which goes to a member's share capital as an investment in the store.

There's also a service fee of $1 a week that goes toward overhead costs like maintenance and staffing.

King said the membership model hasn't changed in more than 50 years.

As prices have risen at grocery stores across Canada, King said Co-op stores are always trying to improve to better serve members.

"What has changed is the landscape, meaning new players into the market, new competition getting bigger. It makes us smarter, it gives us more opportunities to offer more to our members," he said.

"It's never easy in the retail sector, but we believe we're holding our own and we continue to grow."

He said the store employs up to 100 employees depending onthe time of year. He said the store also helpskeepprices low at other stores in the city.

An 'invisible alternative'

Karen Miner, management director of the international centre for co-operative management at St. Mary's University in Halifax, says co-op stores of all sorts offeran "invisible alternative" when it comes to shopping.

"It's a bit of a systemic problem in that most people remain quite ignorant about co-ops being in their neighborhoods and being part of what makes their community strong," Miner said.

"And the more people we can have realizethat, I guess from my perspective, the better."

Miner said co-op grocery stores are beneficial for members becausesurplus profits all go into the store or back to members at the end of the year instead of as profits to a CEO and investors, as they would for a larger chain grocery store.

"So it keeps [surplus profits] all in that community to decideamongst the members what they want to do with any money that's left at the end of each year," she said.

Miner also said co-ops are run to suit the needs of members instead of pure profitability. While other grocery stores might pull out of rural areas because they don't profit enough, the success of a co-op is determinedby how well it meets members' needs.

This is the kind of success that Miner guesses the Fredericton Co-op must have achieved to have lasted so long.

"I'm going to assume since they're celebrating 50 years that they've found a way to remain relevant and that they have a base of members that either are getting better prices for things or are able to source the products that they want."