Three natural foods co-ops in Minneapolis are considering merging into a single organization. Wedge Community Co-op, Linden Hills Co-op and Eastside Co-op are presenting a proposal to their members to merge, creating an organization with more than 32,000 members. The combined co-op would have $75 million in sales.
According to Wedge’s Chief Executive, Josh Resnik, the organizations have a great deal of overlap in terms of missions and values. Pooling resources, technology, purchasing and other functions could lower prices for customers.
Under the proposed plan, each store would keep their names and no jobs would be cut. However, the stores’ boards would merge and a single general manager would run the organization. Should the proposal pass, the plan would take effect on January 2, 2017, reports Star Tribune. Full Story
Related: Kowalski’s Market Begins Major Remodel; Small, Rural Grocery Stores May Become a Thing of the Past.