Battlefords and District Co-operative Ltd. has officially merged with the Radisson Co-op.
Co-op members in the Battlefords approved the amalgamation at a special meeting in North Battleford April 30.
The vote to approve the merger was decided by a secret ballot. The final vote count was 41 votes in favour, one vote against and two spoiled ballots.
With that vote, Battlefords and District Co-op now extends their reach to include the Radisson market, adding to outlets in North Battleford, Cut Knife and Glaslyn.
The vote follows a similar vote taken April 23 by members of Radisson Co-op, who also voted in favour of the amalgamation.
The merger had been in the works for some time. Several reasons for the merger were put forward at the special meeting in a presentation from Randy Graham, president of Battlefords and District Co-op.
Among them: members can use one single co-op number at all retail locations in both Radisson and the Battlefords; a stronger customer contact program; marketing to the trading area as one organization as opposed to inadvertently competing for the same customer; and the benefit of combined earnings providing better allocations to all members and continual positive sales results year after year.
There were also several financial advantages cited including greater efficiencies, increased financial stability and expansion opportunities, among others.
With the merger, Radisson Co-op now comes under the existing equity policies of the Battlefords and District Co-op. The Battlefords Co-op Equity Cap of $17,250 remains under the new setup; Radisson Co-op did not have an equity cap before the merger.
There will also be no impact on current employees in Radisson or the Battlefords. The existing Radisson general manager there will now report to Battlefords Co-op general manager Pat Smith.
For his part, Smith welcomed the amalgamation, which he believes will benefit both co-ops.
"Our focus on this particular amalgamation was to expand our agro-marketing area, which is an area of growth that we see. So it definitely fit in to our plans."
He also sees benefits for Battlefords Co-op members in being able to use the Radisson Co-op's services, and cited the increased stability being part of a larger organization will bring to Radisson.
On hand at the Battlefords Co-op meeting was Bryan Clair, president of Radisson Co-op, who plans to continue on as an associate director under the new setup. He told reporters there were a number of reasons they were in favour of the merger with Battlefords Co-op.
"The biggest benefit that I can see for Radisson is the increased buying power and increased services that Battlefords Co-op has over what we had existing," said Clair.
"We're a very active co-op - very strong membership and loyalty in the community."
Radisson Co-op has 850 members and sales of $4,196,997, six employees and $2,122,562 in assets as of Dec. 1, 2012.
Their operation in Radisson includes a store that sells items including hardware and building supplies, as well as a gas bar/cardlock. Petroleum makes up the bulk of its business.
The Radisson Co-op also recently got into the liquor business, running a liquor store from the same building, which Clair said was a successful venture.
"We thought it was a good idea and it turned out to be a great idea," he said.
In addition to the merger vote, the Battlefords and District Co-op also held its annual general meeting, outlining the co-op's financial position and ongoing projects.
Highlighting the report of the board of directors was news of $76.9 million in sales, an increase of $4 million or 5.5 per cent from 2012.
In 2012 over $1 million in equity was paid to members who had moved, reached age 70, reached their equity cap, estates, and a fifth consecutive general cash payment amounted to $600,000.
The allocation was announced at the meeting as well: three per cent on agro purchases, 2.95 per cent on Marketplace purchases, 1.5 per cent on home building, Leisure Time and FF2, and seven per cent on fuels, propane, oils and grease. The total allocation to member share accounts was $2.45 million, slightly below the $2.48 million from the previous year.
In his management report, Smith outlined some of the significant projects that the Battlefords Co-op is taking on in the next year.
They expect to finish the $1.7 million roof replacement on the Territorial Place Mall this summer, a project they had hoped to finish last year. It was only halfway completed due to the weather.
Also planned is construction of a new Co-op Gas Bar at the Walmart location in North Battleford.
Smith described that approximately $6-million project as a "done deal," with the land purchased and the zoning expected to clear City Hall in the next month.
The potential of locating a gas bar at Walmart was cited by Smith, who pointed to the nearby Credit Union CUPlex as an attraction.
There was a "huge amount of traffic" the Co-op could take advantage of at that location, said Smith. "We wanted to be one of the first ones in there."
Also planned is a new eight pump and eight lane cardlock in North Battleford expected by 2014, a new gas bar in the town of Battleford and replacement of the Glaslyn cardlock.
Also coming is modernization of their home building center at Territorial Place Mall with hopes to proceed with that project later this year.
