Pang, Qikiqtarjuaq co-ops distribute record high dividends

Pangnirtung’s co-op retail store is crowded to capacity. It’s current plans call for the construction of a new store with three times as much space, general manager Allan Paterson gain. (PHOTO COURTESY OF PANGNIRTUNG CO-OP LTD.)

The Pangnirtung Co-operative Ltd. hit a milestone this month, when it announced a record high patronage dividend of more than $675,000 for its members.

Announced to its members on Nov. 5, the dividend includes a $290,000 cash pay-out.

It marks the fourth consecutive year the co-op has paid patronage dividends, and only the fourth time in its 45-year history that the co-op has earned money for its members.

“For the first 42 years, they never got back anything,” said Allan Paterson, general manager of the co-op. “Since 2011, we have given back $1.8 million to our members. So it goes up and up.”

The co-op’s fortunes started to turn around shortly after Paterson’s arrival at the end of 2009, when he started as general manager.

“We had lots of talks with the board of directors, to set a vision of where they wanted to be. Where they wanted to be five years from now, and 10 years from now. And then it’s our job, or my job to try and get them there,” Paterson said.

In addition to its all-purpose retail co-op store, Pangnirtung Co-operative Ltd. operates an Inns North Hotel and provides cable and fuel distribution services in the community.

“Consistent management is probably more important than anything,” the manager said, noting that the co-op lacked this for most of its history.

“It’s hard to set those long-term goals and to achieve them when there’s no consistency.”

One of those long-term goals was to build a new retail store, he said, a project that is now picking up momentum.

Pangnirtung’s 3,200 square-foot (300 square-metre) store now records about $4.3 million in retail sales, more than double the $2 million Paterson saw in 2009-2010.

“We are really, really pushed to the maximum now, of what we can do within the footprint of the store that we have,” he said.

Plans call for a new store of about 9,700 square feet (900 sq. metres).

Once land is secured for the new building, the store may be built as early as next year, “with a possible opening in spring of 2015,” Paterson said.

The new store “will allow us to have a better variety for our customers,” he said. “It’s a huge difference.”

The grocery section will include 30 freezer doors, compared to the current store’s six.

Paterson said that the co-op concept of keeping revenue and profits within the community is a strong motivating factor in its recent success, provided that management is consistent.

“Patronage goes back to you, so the more you spend at the co-op, the more patronage [dividends] you get back,” he said.

As long as the retail store has what customers want, he added, “then they will certainly continue to shop at the co-op.”

The Pangnirtung co-op has 770 members, up from less than 500 in 2009, Paterson said.

The retailer’s success is mirrored in the neighbouring Baffin community of Qikiqtarjuaq, Nov. 7, where Tulugak Co-operative Ltd. announced a patronage dividend of $168,000.

This is also a new local record, and includes a cash pay-out of $100,000.

The payout marks the third consecutive year that the hamlet’s co-op members have received refunds.

Like Paterson in Pangnirtung, Tulugak co-op’s general manager Yvonne Clarke credited “consistent management” for the recent successes.

Clarke, who has worked as general manager of Gjoa Haven’s co-operative, left that community to take on the management position in Qikiqtarjuaq in 2011.

“I’ve got a good board, and I’ve got their support, as well as good staff,” Clarke said of Tulugak co-op’s success. “A lot of it is mainly about who you work with as well.”

The co-op’s retail store is the backbone of its business, which includes an Inns North Hotel and restaurant, and cable TV and rental services.

Tulugak is on a five-year plan to upgrade the 6,000 square-foot (560 sq. metre) retail store and build a warehouse, Clarke said.

“Right now our sales are up 10 per cent per year,” she explained, which calls for expansion and upgrades.

Tulugak Co-op celebrated its 40th anniversary in March, Clarke said. The co-op has 307 active members who receive dividends.