Co-op ‘encouraged’ by 7% growth in annual sales
Sales for the Calgary Co-operative Association Ltd. increased by 7.2 per cent in 2011 from the previous year.
For its financial year ending Oct. 29, Calgary Co-op sales reached $1.097 billion compared with $1.023 billion in 2010, the company said Wednesday at its annual general meeting.
Assets were $441.4 million compared with $413.4 million in 2010.
Earnings before income tax and patronage returns to members were $59.2 million, compared with $37.9 million in 2010.
“We’re very encouraged by our results last year. . . . We’re very pleased with our financial results,” said Deane Collinson, Co-op’s chief executive.
“There’s no question that competition is increasing. Target’s announced that they’re coming to town. A lot of the big-box discounters are renovating and trying to improve their positioning. But we feel that at Calgary Co-op our positioning around fresh and really having the best meat, the best produce, is really paying off for us. And also just our focus on buying local.”
U.S. retail giant Target will be opening Calgary stores beginning in 2013.
Michael Kehoe, an Alberta-based retail specialist with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate in Calgary, said the challenge for grocery stores like the Calgary Co-op is to find innovative ways to generate favourable returns for its members.
“The obvious method of growing sales and increasing market share will be more difficult in the Calgary market with the arrival of Target stores and their expected extensive grocery offering. Walmart is now a significant player on the Calgary grocery scene and a formidable competitor,” Kehoe said.
“If Co-op can gain any traction in 2012, they need to take advantage of new site opportunities that come available in a very competitive retail real estate market, strengthen their brand, deepen their connection to local consumers and set themselves apart from the competition.”
In November 1956, Calgary Co-op first opened its doors with one location on 11th Avenue S.W., 1,000 members and only a few employees.
Today, Calgary Co-op has more than 440,000 members, employs at least 3,300 people in its 21 food centres, 27 gas bars and convenience stores, 22 car washes, 21 Wines & Spirits stores, seven travel offices and two Home Health Care locations.
It operates in Calgary, Airdrie, Okotoks and Strathmore.
High River is scheduled to open a gas bar in the spring and a 35,000-square-foot food centre later in the summer.
“In the food business, we’ve got lots of really great locations that we want to start renovating in the near future,” Collinson said.
“From a petroleum standpoint and wines and spirits, both those businesses are very strong and we’re looking to expand those businesses as quickly as we can find good assets.”