<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18854">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<H1>Co-op ends 2009 with best-ever revenue</H1>
<H1>Moscow-Pullman Daily News - DNews.com</H1><H2CO-OP ends 2009 with best-ever
revenue< h2>
<P><STRONG>Extra cash allows store to give back to customers,
employees</STRONG></P>
<P>By Alexiss Turner, Daily News staff writer<BR>January 2, 2010</P>
<P>Nothing can keep the Moscow Food Co-op down, not even a sluggish economy.</P>
<P>The store finished out 2009 with its best financial performance to date.
Profits topped $200,000, twice as much as during the co-op's previous best
year.</P>
<P>General Manager Kenna Eaton attributes the added cash to staff ability to
band together, buckle down and spend wisely.</P>
<P>"The staff worked really hard to turn things around," she said. "... to be
careful with all expenses they control, such as labor."</P>
<P>Eaton said reaching this feat was no easy task.</P>
<P>"We've had to work a lot harder," she said. "It's a twist on that old adage,
'When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.' Staff had to really buckle
down to make this work."</P>
<P>Even with money being tight, Eaton said the community has given constant
support.</P>
<P>"I know everybody had to cut back a little bit on their purchases," she said.
"... Everyone recognized this, and we had to pull together and work
together."</P>
<P>Sales for the year reached approximately $7.2 million. Eaton said that number
is relatively unchanged from 2008.</P>
<P>The extra profits allowed the co-op to give back. More than $30,000 was
returned to employees in bonuses. The top 500 shoppers for the year received
coupons worth anywhere from $10-50 dollars, totalling $10,000.</P>
<P>Eaton said the coupon bonuses went over so well with regular customers, the
co-op has voted to give top shoppers a portion of their spending back this year.
</P>
<P>"We figured if they liked (receiving coupons), they would like it if we (gave
back to them) properly."</P>
<P>Also in 2010, Eaton said the co-op is planning to add a salad bar to their
offerings. </P>
<P>"We're really excited about that," she said. "I've wanted one since we moved
here. We've always had the space for it, we just needed the money."</P>
<P>The bar will offer a large self-serve salad selection under a single price,
Eaton said </P>
<P>"I think our customers will be pleased with the selection," she said.</P>
<P>A "grab and go" case will also be added in the meat department to widen
selection and improve the overall aesthetic, Eaton said. A customer service desk
also is slated for addition to the wellness department.</P>
<P>Eaton said she is looking toward the future with an "optimistically cautious"
view.</P>
<P>"We're looking for basically another (average) year," she said. "But (we hope
to) continue to run a profitable business because we know what we're
doing."</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>