Plainfield Co-op & Community Center

3

Since our last update in mid-December, here's where we stand:

1. Store merger. Under the leadership of our skilled general manager, Jeannine DeWald, the merger of the two businesses continues. This includes:

• Reorganization and upgrades to the Route 2 store. Next big change: Installation of the produce prep area, which should be completed in a few weeks.

• Merging member, customer, and product data into one point of sale (POS) system. This is a complex process that is nearing completion over the next month. Co-ops are a specialized business model and this process cannot be rushed or outsourced.

• Reorganizing the staffing structure to better meet the needs of the business.

• Working with vendors to secure the best deals and payment terms.

This is a tiny fraction of her checklist. Jeannine inherited a challenging situation – a jigsaw puzzle with many pieces – and is working through the list as thoughtfully and expeditiously as possible. We appreciate your patience (and please keep shopping!)

2. Sale of the village building. As you have undoubtedly heard, the board is accepting proposals from potential buyers. To date, we have received one promising proposal. We have scheduled a real estate appraisal to determine a fair price for the building. All real estate transactions require a vote of the members; stay tuned for details.

3. Fundraising. To date, we have raised $523,000 in gifts and loans from the community, which is a remarkable achievement. If you've donated or loaned money – or volunteered to help with fundraising – thank you!

We are seeking an additional $77,000 to reach our goal of $600,000. This is critical funding to help complete the merger process. If you'd like to participate, please contact the board.

4. Completing the move. We expect to close the village store in mid-February once the POS system is in place on Route 2. The move will happen in stages over several weeks because, as noted, we are building this jigsaw puzzle piece by piece. If you would like to volunteer, let us know. We are also seeking a contract project manager to help organize volunteers and logistics around the move.

With gratitude,
your Plainfield Co-op board, board@plainfieldcoop.com

In response to everyone's questions, here's a status report.

A reminder of how we got here: In August, Plainfield Co-op purchased Plainfield Hardware with
the intention of closing the village store and moving all operations to Route 2. This followed…

• A two-year process of research and decision-making with Co-op membership.
• A planning grant, funded by the state of Vermont, to develop a business plan.
• An intensive round of fundraising, which includes loans from cooperative and commercial
lenders, community members, and owner financing. We also received donations from about
100 members and friends of the Co-op. Fifteen members volunteered to help raise money.
• The $2 million raised to date (including $500,000 from the community) has been used to
purchase the store and pay some of the transition costs. We knew, from the start, that
additional fundraising – plus the sale of the Co-op building in the village – would be required
to fully fund this project.

We hired our new general manager, Jeannine DeWald, a few weeks ago – welcome, Jeannine! –
and we've been delighted with her commitment, creativity, and energy. Kudos to all the staff who
continue to do their work with professionalism and skill.

Challenges: We've faced many challenges. Some were anticipated, others unexpected.

• It took almost four months from the purchase date to hire a general manager. This greatly
slowed our progress and created significant additional expenses. In the ideal world, we would
have begun the GM search much earlier, but we have a small Board – only five people at the
time of the purchase – and were consumed with planning, fundraising, purchase negotiations,
and a lot of paperwork.
• The complexity of merging these two businesses has been immense: different accounting
systems, point-of-sales systems, operations, etc. Perhaps more complex than we anticipated.
• Our slow progress on the merger has led to confusion, disappointment, and persistent
questions from staff, members, and customers.
• While our margins remain strong, sales are down at both locations.

The way forward: Management and the Board are committed to moving everything to Route 2
as quickly as possible -- within the next one to two months. You'll notice additional changes to the
Route 2 location during that time.

Our biggest challenge is cash flow. Therefore, fundraising continues. Reach out if you can make
a gift or loan; add to your previous gift or loan; or suggest new donors. We are also seeking a
buyer for the village building, which will provide some of the funding we need. When we reach
our fundraising goal (an additional $100,000) and find a suitable buyer, we'll be in solid shape.

Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities related to the move. Please keep shopping at both
locations. We appreciate your commitment to the Plainfield Co-op!

Cooperatively,
Plainfield Co-op Board of Directors
board@plainfieldcoop.com