Pioneer Co-op enjoys record sales year in 2021

The Pioneer Co-op reported another record sales year at their April 19th annual general meeting thanks to $345,378,553 in sales for the year ending January 31, 2022.

Pioneer Co-op’s new sales record eclipsed the previous mark of $322.4 million set just a year ago, and a total which moves the local co-operative closer to an impressive milestone.

“Our team tells me that we can reach $365 million (in sales). So what that would mean is that Pioneer Co-op would be suppling goods and services to Southwest Saskatchewan at $1 million per day,” Pioneer Co-op CEO Larry Kozun highlighted during last Tuesday’s meeting.

Kozun noted their record setting success came despite a series of hurdles.

“We had supply chain issues. We had vendor inventory allocations. We had COVID rules from the government and it was very challenging, but we had really good support from our members,” he said. “Everybody stayed close to home. And we’re in 19 communities with 31 stores, and I guess we really found out that we are in the essential services. And the past boards have made the right decisions of what products to be in.”

He reflected that the challenges from 2021 has strengthened the Co-op moving forward

“This year’s circumstances continued to make us adapt and evolve,” he said. “We needed to think differently, innovate, challenge assumptions, while insuring the delivery of essential services to Southwest Saskatchewan.”

He also highlighted the exceptional support their membership contributed to all their 31 retail locations situated in 19 communities. Pioneer Co-op boasts six food stores, two pharmacies, one family fashion, three home centres, one plumbing service, five liquor locations, 20 agri centres, 19 card locks, six service stations, and two bulk petroleum sites.

Karla Clifton, Pioneer Co-op Controller, reported that the Pioneer Coop Board of Directors has approved $14.1 million in patronage allocation for 2021, based on record sales of $345 Million. Board Chair, Uli Cartman, announced that the percentages for the patronage allocation will be Food: Food - 3.0 per cent; Hardware, Lumber and Plumbing - 2.0 per cent; Pharmacy - 5.0 per cent; Agro - 5.0 per cent; Fertilizer - 1.0 per cent; Service Station - 6.0 per cent (seven cents a litre); Farm Fuel and Marked Diesel - 7.5 per cent (seven cents a litre); plus Wine and Spirits - 2.5 per cent.

“We will continue to keep Pioneer Coop focussed on the changes and challenges that we face in an increasingly competitive retail environment. We are well positioned for the future,” Kozun added.