Larger Clearview Co-op board plans new food store

Sales and member returns were down at Clearview Co-op for 2024.

Members got Co-op cheques totalling $7.8 million. That is down from $10.3 million with a fuel return of 3.01 cents per litre compared to last year’s 5.57 cents per litre.

Only fertilizer and crop supplies gave out slightly more money to patrons. Food, home and building, propane, oil and grease patrons all got back less.

Total sales were $188.7 million in 2024, down from $213 million a year earlier. A fuel tax holiday from the provincial government, that has now ended, kept prices lower than 2023 and was the reason for the drop, not a reduction in the volume sold, according to board director Roy Enns’ report.

“On average, retail gas prices were down about 16 percent lower. I know most of you wouldn’t think that, but they were actually lower than 2023,” explained Enns to the crowd gathered at Clearview’s annual general meeting at the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach April 1.

Food future

There was confirmation that Ile des Chênes will eventually get a food store thanks to growth in that community and neighbouring Grande Pointe. Land has been bought but it is still in the planning stages.

St Malo is also to get a renovation, though a timeline has not been set. St Malo’s food store is home to all three employees awarded for their 30 years of service at the AGM: Jason Baldwin, Scott Miller and Carlen Vouriot.

But it was the South Junction location that got the most attention from the 60 or so members at the AGM. The restaurant there is closed after its owner decided to stop leasing the space at the co-op.

General Manager Martin Trudeau said Clearview looked for another leaser, but it was not in a position to take over the restaurant. It is still running the hotel and recently bought furniture.

Trudeau hopes South Junction will be able to offer warm food like pizza and other options soon. He stressed Clearview is not abandoning the community, citing an investment of more than $250,000 for new pump technology, coolers, and other technology.

Board expands

The co-op board acclaimed new director Angèle Lord, incumbent director Earl Warkentin, and chair David Wiens at the AGM.

That increase the number of board members from six to seven.

Clearview has 35,000 members with 25 locations for gas, food and agriculture service from Lorette to Fort Frances, Ont.

Cyber attack hits bottom line

Federated Co-op Limited (FCL) took a hit from a cyber attack. While FCL said operations were shut down before major damage could occur, there was a big cost to fix things and prevent it from happening again.

Clearview director Don Falk said at the AGM that FCL’s bottom line was also affected by inflation and lower refining margins.

Clearview’s net savings before patronage allocation and income taxes was $14.8 million, down from $22.3 million in 2023. A chunk of that was patronage refunds received from FCL that were down $3.7 million, a steep drop of 42 percent.

Falk said Clearview hopes to see former Peavey Mart customers migrate over to using co-ops after that company announced its closure. He also said that a tariff response team has been formed.

The new Ste Anne Food Store that opened in October and the acquisition of the Blumenort location contributed the most to a $1.4-million increase in operating expenses, according to Enns’ report. Total operation expenses were up to $19.6 million for 2024.

An official grand opening is planned for Ste Anne sometime in late spring.

In the store are the 180 new food products that co-op is producing as part of its diversification efforts, everything from soda bottled in Edmonton to expanded pharmacy options from the packaging facility in Regina.