After 40 years is Karma Co-op about to go deadpool?
Karma Co-op, the beloved non-profit organic food cooperative, is in danger of having its doors closed for good. Members of the co-op received an email late last week. The email, which was later circulated on Reddit, spread concern about the shop's imminent demise âunless they increase sales by $21,000 per month.
Talia McGuire is the acting general manager of the Annex shop, and she says the co-op realized it was in serious trouble at the last AGM in October. Since then, Karma has been hosting internal workshops and events to try to get existing members to be more actively engaged. The co-op also held a membership drive in November, but McGuire says it didn't drum up the support needed to create a significant leap in sales. That leap has to happen by June, or the co-op is kaput.
Opening up the model to accommodate non-members would undeniably ramp up sales numbers, but McGuire says making those changes would be more difficult than it sounds.
"Our model is not set up to allow non-members to shop, but we're re-evaluating that and discussing how to eliminate barriers to joining and make that more accessible." In the meantime, they have extended their trial shopping period from a day to a month, and the membership fee is waived for that period. (Membership is $40 per year).
Karma is aiming to attract 100 new members by June, as well. More details can be found on their site.
