The Southland Cooperative Ltd and Lafleche Co-operative Association will be amalgamating on January 29, 2017.
Both Co-ops held membership meeting to adopt the resolution on the amalgamation. The Lafleche Co-op held a meeting of its members on November 22 in Lafleche and accepted the resolution.
The Southland Co-op’s members met on November 23 in Assiniboia and voted in the resolution. Both meetings adopted the resolution by narrow margins — just above the two-thirds present needed to pass the motion.
The decision takes effect on January 29. For the average shoppers at any of the two Co-op service centres, little will change. It was important for both Co-ops that local staff remain in place, although functions may shift. Local sponsorships of community activities remain in place. There will be some changes to memberships. For example, Lafleche Co-op will be adopting Southland’s equity and governance policies.
Pat Piche, president of Southland Co-op board, chaired the Assiniboia meeting. Prior to the voting, Southland Co-op manager Ken Bahuaud presented background to the merger and answered questions. He also addressed concerns from the membership about staffing, equity and benefits.
The Lafleche Co-op board approaching Southland’s board in August with the merger idea initiated the amalgamation. Several reasons were cited for amalgamating such as shrinking profit margins, the increased competition for skilled and qualified employees, and the need to boost volumes to continue to supply products and services.
Southland sees the merger as a good fit because both Co-ops share a similar business model. Furthermore, Southland already does considerable trading in the Lafleche area. Bahuaud stated that the advantage for Southland is that it will be able to unify the trading area.
The Lafleche and Southland Co-ops together allocated more than $1.9 million in equity and cash-back to members last year. For the cooperatives, the merger means future growth and sustainability. If all goes well with the merger, statistics from previous amalgamations of other Co-ops in the province shown an increase in equity and other benefits. The combined Southland and Lafleche Co-ops will have 6,977 active members, $27.4 million in assets, 172 employees and 10 locations in 5 communities. The services being offered include lumber and hardware, petroleum, card lock and propane, farm equipment and grain bins, feed and twine, oil and grease, food, confectionary, liquor and pharmacy.
