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Weaver Street Market to change rewards plan

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Staff

Starting June 28, Weaver Street Market will change its co-op rewards from discounts to dividends. Instead of receiving a 5 percent discount on some products at the cash register, consumer-owners will receive a patronage dividend at the end of the year. The senior citizen discounts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays also will be eliminated.

The Weaver Street board of directors will hold two meetings at which the co-op’s 10,000 consumer owners can discuss the changes. One meeting will be at the Century Center in Carrboro Monday at 7 p.m. and the other at the Big Barn in Hillsborough on June 3 at 7 p.m.

The co-op is losing $65,000 per month because sales are down 12 percent compared to last year in its Carrboro and Southern Village locations due to the economy and increased competition. Dave Rizzo, chair of the Weaver Street board of directors, said the change to dividends will save Weaver Street Market $60,000 a month.

Over the course of the year, total purchases of each owner are recorded. At the end of the year, a dividend is paid based on how much each owner spent and how well Weaver Street Market performed financially.

In addition to the yearly dividend, Weaver Street Market also will introduce new weekly specials and coupons for co-op members.

Rizzo said the changes should put Weaver Street Market back in the black, and when it does, the co-op members again will see the benefits of their ownership.

“Consumer owners have been insulated from our financial difficulty, not because they asked to be, but because the way our owner reward system is set up,” Rizzo said. “Changing to a patronage dividend allows our consumer owners to help the co-op out of our short-term difficulties and to resume receiving a return once the economy turns around.”
— Staff Reports.

4 thoughts on “Weaver Street Market to change rewards plan”

  1. Patricia Logos says:
    May 28, 2009 at 8:31 am

    Sales are down because of the very unappetizing presentation of products for sale. Although I’m sure the vacuum sealed meat is fresher, I simply cannot bring myself to buy it. If I want a special cut, there is no butcher. Every time I try to eat the sushi, the rice is hard as a rock. The small size of the Hillsborough store makes choices very limited. BTW, my coop # is 752.

  2. Emily Bowles says:
    May 29, 2009 at 7:18 am

    Co-op members should not *expect* a dividend check: dividends are given at the end of the year only when Weaver Street ends the year in the black. The co-op in our former town (Bloomington, Indiana) had this system of rewards and we did not see a reward check from 2002-2008, when they had been given out in 2001.

  3. J.B. Lewis says:
    May 29, 2009 at 8:46 am

    “The co-op is losing $65,000 per month because sales are down 12 percent compared to last year in its Carrboro and Southern Village locations due to the economy and increased competition.”

    Sadly, some of this “competition” is self-inflicted.

    I agree with Patricia Logos about the loss of the meat/seafood counter. I can’t imagine that decreased sales in that area are only related to “the economy.”

    I’d add that losing the bakery has also had a detrimental effect on the Carrboro experience.

    And where’s all of that extra space we were promised in the Carrboro store?

    Has anything that was promised to the Carrboro customers after the expansion into Hillsborough been realized?

    What we have is an unpleasant shopping experience, confusing floorplan, higher prices, crowded isles, disgruntled employees- and no member volunteers to brighten the mood.

    And the lack of “institutional memory” among the Carrboro employees is just sad.

    We can blame “the economy” if you like. Or we can be more honest and say that there have been a number of business decisions made over the past few years that have not been in the best interest of the membership.

    At this point, I’d be happy to see a Carrboro Library at the WSM space at Carr Mill. We’d still have our lawn, and there are other food options in the area. Maybe someone could open a small bakery in the mall.

    I still believe in the mission of Weaver Street Market. I’m just not convinced that the board-or current employees – do.

    I also agree- as Emily Bowles has written- that there will be no dividend checks. That would require profitability.

    I’m sorry that WSM is not doing well, but there were plenty of community members warning of what was coming.

    This is the beginning of the end of WSM in Carrboro

  4. A. Pergolotti says:
    June 1, 2009 at 5:00 pm

    Well, I’m new to town and new to the market — for me, this is the beginning of the beginning. Number 17236. The discount was not what made me join the coop.. nor the meat/seafood counter (vegan).. I appreciate the opportunity to walk to get my groceries at a place where the people and the food make for a pleasurable experience. I see happy employees that are very helpful… I enjoy the vegetable sushi.. I feel very lucky to have this in my new town (not every town is this lucky)… I’m not sure what was promised (I’m sorry, I lack the institutional knowledge being new), but I really hope we can continue to support our market and create a new beginning…. And find another location for a library (which would be great to have downtown as well!). I feel the issue here maybe is that you feel your voice is not being heard… let’s keep the focus on that and not on the demise of a great place.

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