MOOSOMIN — Borderland Co-op held its 87th annual general meeting on May 22.
Borderland Co-op saw sales of $127.7 million and earnings of $2.15 million in 2024. Sales in 2024 were up from the 2023 fiscal year, which saw $123.4 million in sales, but fell short of the 2022 fiscal year, which saw sales of $132.7 million.
Shannon Dickens, VP of Finance, explained in her report how the net savings over the fiscal year were spread out to the membership in the form of allocations on member purchases. Bulk petroleum, propane, oil and retail pump purchases received a three per cent allocation, while food and convenience saw a 1.5 per cent allocation. All other commodities received a one per cent allocation. The board also authorized a 50 per cent general repayment of the 2017 allocation, with equity cheques totalling around $1.88 million back to members. In the previous fiscal year, patronage totalled $1,952,650.
“We operate a business, and at the end of the day, whatever we are able to make, it goes back to our members,” Schenn said. “That’s mission accomplished.”
The cheques include equity that Borderland Co-op receives from Federated Co-op, which makes up a large part of the total amount. The amount Federated was able to share was lower than previous years due to stressors such as the cyber attack that occurred in June of 2024. Cardlock gas stations, supply at food stores and FCL’s website were affected, but consumer data was not compromised.
As Schenn pointed out in his report, FCL’s operational performance was impacted for six weeks due to the disruption and it took time to get the supply chain back to normal. The tax disparity on fuel between Manitoba and Saskatchewan, inflation, threats of a trade war and a change in government in Canada and the U.S. and the potential effects on public policy “made 2024 a tough year to navigate.”
“All of these impact member and consumer habits in different ways, and it is up to us to make the most practical business decisions we can, given so much uncertainty,” Schenn said. “In 2024, we chose to primarily focus on what we can control and attempt to not overreact to global instability and recession fears.”
Operational ups and downs
In terms of operation, the food and fuel sectors did well for Borderland, but the home and building supply locations did experience difficulties.
“This business line continues to face struggles post-COVID with consumer demand softening and shifting to online platforms like Amazon for a larger component of their hardware needs,” Schenn noted. “In addition to this, the overall number of skilled trades and general contractors in our communities is declining, and competitor lumber yards from urban centres are now offering build services in our communities, but do not utilize local trades and material suppliers for these projects. Not a great recipe for operational sustainability if these trends continue.”
He told the World-Spectator that in 2017, 34 contractors in the area were doing business with the local co-op.
“You look at the list today, well, that number has dwindled down to about a dozen,” Schenn said, listing retirement, younger people moving out of the area, and businesses melding together as reasons for the decline.
“There’s not the amount of contractors to be able to take on projects if anybody wants to, which lends itself to another thing that we see is that you have what appears to be a new business that sets up shop and an office space or something like that, and they’re not using local materials, they’re not using local trades to do the projects that are happening,” Schenn explained.
On the positive side, Schenn did point out that most of Borderland’s 14,000 members do support their local food stores, convenience stores, home centres, and ag/bulk fuel.
“In uncertain times, the work we do combined with the purchasing support of our members has the power to maintain critical community services like food, fuel, hardware and farm supplies now and well into the future,” he said.
One example of this from the past year is the Rocanville food pilot project, which consisted of stocking staples and more popular food items with the option to order supplementary items available through Click and Collect, the online shopping portal that can bring items from the central Moosomin food store to Rocanville.
“So far, it’s working out great. We’re seeing a lot of positive trends in there,” Schenn said of the Rocanville pilot. “There’s some things that we got to do to refine the profitability side of it, but we’re pointed in a very good direction.”
A pair of major construction projects also occurred throughout 2024— the Moosomin Food Store and Kipling Gas Bar.
“It’s been a busy year, I was a little worried going into the year, trying to take on that many big things at once,” Schenn said. “But at the end of the day, I’m glad we did, because I think we hit a sweet spot here in terms of cost of construction and even just the way things roll within an economic downturn. I think we got into build at probably the most inexpensive time that we could build in the next several years.”
The uncertainty of the U.S. tariffs could have played a role in building materials had Borderland waited even one year to embark on the projects.
“And it’s not just the cost of the material,” Schenn added. “Minimum wage has gone up, which means all your other expectations along the way go up as well. This food store project alone it could have made a $3-to-$5-million difference in terms of the cost of the project. When you think about that, it’s the difference between a ‘go’ and a ‘no-go’.
“The Kipling C-Store was GC’d by our Projects and Facilities team led by Travis Holmstrom, where we were able to complete the project $1.3 million under budget,” Schenn noted. “The Moosomin Food project utilized Travis’s oversight and the services of CCR Construction under a different kind of contract that allowed for greater collaboration to deliver the project.”
The result was a savings estimated at $800,000 under budget.
“Our success in these projects has opened an opportunity for us to GC a C-Store renovation and petroleum upgrade project for Arcola Co-op in 2025,” continued Schenn. “Going forward, it may be possible for us to do more commercial projects with other Co-ops in the future, which would be good for Borderland and other Co-ops.”
Looking into 2025
Schenn has no illusions that uncertainty caused by factors beyond the co-op’s control will subside any time soon. What he does have faith in is the tenacity of Borderland and its members, who have stood by the co-op through good and bad years.
“It could be a bumpy year, but the fortunate thing is that we’re in an area of the world here where, between mining, farming, oil, manufacturing, and all the various things that go on, we’re pretty well insulated,” he said. “It still comes down mostly to what happens locally and whether people choose to support their local Co-op. We definitely thank everyone of the thousands of members that make that choice to support us. As long as we’ve got that kind of support, then we should be able to continue to put money back in everybody’s pockets at the end.”
By far, the greatest resource is the people— the 14,000-plus members and more than 400 team members within Borderland.
“Our people are our Co-op and a big part of the fabric of our communities,” Schenn noted. “It’s our kids and grandkids learning job skills in their first jobs. It’s our friends, neighbours and family members that rely on this co-op for their livelihood. It’s our volunteer firefighters and first responders that are free to leave their jobs in an emergency to serve our communities. It’s our kids and grandkids, coaches in minor sport, who give up evenings and weekends to provide an opportunity for kids to participate in organized sports. It’s the people that teach or participate in local arts and music groups and programs. It’s the people that are part of the Elks, Legion, Kinsmen, Lions, Masons and Shriners, as well as many boards and planning committees for local groups and events.
“Borderland Co-op team members are everywhere in our communities, and we are so proud of that.”
Borderland is able to provide more than $15.3 million in salaries and benefits to employees through the communities of Moosomin, Rocanville, Maryfield, Whitewood, Kipling, Broadview and Grenfell. Borderland Co-op pays more than $400,000 annually in municipal taxes throughout the region, plus serves an additional 17 communities surrounding those locations.
In the 87 years the local co-op has been around, over $1.5 billion in sales have been generated, and $61 million in savings reinvested to members in the form of payments and renovated community facilities.
In 2024, Borderland partnered with 298 local groups, events, and organizations, contributing over $150,000 across their territory.
