From the Blog
2023 Treasurer's Report
The dramatic effects of the pandemic are behind us, but retailers are still having to adapt to long-lasting changes in supply chains and customer patterns. New Pioneer is no exception to this; and these challenges are reflected in the Co-op financials.
New Pioneer is still very much in rebuild and recovery mode, but there are several reasons to be optimistic that we are trending in the right direction.
We ended Fiscal Year 2022/2023 with a loss of $573k. However, that is nearly a $50k improvement over FY 2021/2022.
Additionally, we saw a 5% ($1.1m) growth in revenue over the past year. That mark by itself is reason to celebrate, and it is even more promising that we saw nearly 10% revenue growth across all locations May 2023 – July 2023 compared to the same period last year.
Early 2023 was spent implementing large overhauls to several procedures that should lead to more robust financial performance in the future.
The Management Team has implemented new methods for ensuring accuracy of inventory levels that will reduce waste, which is good for both the financial aspect and the environment.
Additionally, an entirely new budgeting method was developed and rolled out for the 2023/2024 budget.
Management is confident that the collaborative approach to developing the budget will provide better guidance for individual departments and empower them to make better decisions to bolster the Co-op’s financial situation overall.
Due to poor financial performance over the past few years, New Pi has been in a holding pattern on making capital investments to better the lives of our employees and the experience of our customers.
Part of the collaborative approach to budgeting was asking the various departments for a wish list of areas that need immediate attention.
Management is committed to addressing the biggest items on this list this fiscal year and the board has approved the expenses.
There is a very real possibility that these expenses will reflect negatively on the balance sheet for the year, but we fully believe they are important investments that will pay dividends in the future.
Newly hired CEO Patrick Brickel brings a history of success in managing the Cedar Rapids store, as well as success in managing prior businesses.
We are confident that Patrick will be able to pick up where Interim GM Amy Hospodarsky left off and continue the turnaround that we’ve seen in the past few months.
I am excited to see how Patrick’s emphasis on customer-oriented approaches will transform the shopping experience and translate to financial success across all Co-op locations.
There is still a lot of work to be done, and the return to financial prosperity will not be immediate for New Pi.
However, I believe the foundation has been set and Patrick & Team will be able to build us back to where we want to be.
Jim Johnson
Board Treasurer
New Pioneer Food Co-op
New Pi is a food co-operative, owned by over 35,000 members, home-grown in Iowa. We welcome everyone to our store, regardless of membership, and focus on local and sustainable food solutions. New Pi has strong roots in Iowa City’s local food community, and continues to partner with local growers, food, and sustainability organizations to enrich Linn and Johnson County communities.