Puget Consumers Co-op, doing business as PCC Community Markets, is a food cooperative based in Seattle, Washington. With over 114,000 members, it is the largest consumer-owned food cooperative in the United States.[3] Both members and non-members may shop at the retail locations, but members receive certain discounts. The organization currently operates fifteen retail locations. Eight of the fifteen stores are located in Seattle (in the Fremont, Green Lake, Columbia City, View Ridge, West Seattle, Ballard and Central District neighborhoods). The West Seattle location reopened on October 2, 2019.[4] The other seven are located in Issaquah, Kirkland, Burien, Bothell, Redmond, Edmonds and Bellevue.
 | |
| PCC Community Markets | |
| Company type | Consumers' cooperative |
| Industry | Grocery store |
| Founded | 1953 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | |
| Products | Organic food |
| Revenue | USD 436 million (2023) |
| USD (12.5 million) (2023) | |
| USD (9.8 million) (2023) | |
| Members | Over 114,000 (2023) |
Number of employees | ~ 1,800 (2023) |
| Website | Official website  |
| Footnotes / references Financials as of December 31, 2023[update].[2] | |
The organization was founded in 1953; it rebranded to PCC Natural Markets in 1998 and then to its current name in 2017.[5]
Organization
editPCC is a member-owned and operated cooperative. The members govern through established bylaws and yearly elect a board of trustees who represent the interests of the members. Like other grocery cooperatives, the profits from the retail store operations go directly back into the stores or to the community (through classes, education or charitable efforts).
Current PCC programs include:
- PCC Sound Consumer newspaper
- PCC Cooks classes
- PCC Farmland Trust, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to sustainable organic farming
Candidates on the board of trustees are required to collect 1,000 member signatures to appear on ballots. As of 2021[update], it has 90,000 members.[6] Two candidates in the 2021 election, both employees endorsed by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, alleged that store managers had called the police on them while gathering signatures in an attempt to dissuade support.[6] The employees were ultimately included in the ballot and won election to the board of trustees, becoming the first store employees to sit on the board since the early 2000s.[7]
Relationship with Central Co-op
editIn 1978, Capitol Hill Co-op dissolved for financial reasons and, in keeping with the principle that co-operatives cooperate with other cooperatives, PCC agreed to provide technical and financial assistance to the Central Co-op to replace it.[8]
Pricing
editAccording to Consumers' Checkbook magazine, PCC's prices for the limited number of comparable items available were higher than the big-chain average.[9][10] However, the quality of PCC's fresh produce and meat received very high scores. The prices of organic food at PCC were about the same as the average prices at other stores in the Puget Sound area.[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "PCC Community Markets Names Krishnan Srinivasan New President & CEO". pccmarkets.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "2023 CO-OP PURPOSE REPORT PART TWO: FINANCIALS" (PDF). PCC Community Markets. May 22, 2024.
- ^ "About PCC - PCC Community Markets". pccmarkets.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "West Seattle - PCC Community Markets". pccmarkets.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "PCC rebrands to emphasize its local roots". seattletimes.com. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ a b Roberts, Paul (April 9, 2021). "PCC workers' bid to join grocery co-op's board draws controversy". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
- ^ Groover, Heidi (May 4, 2021). "PCC employees win seats on co-op board after controversial election". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
- ^ "About PCC - PCC Community Markets". pccmarkets.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "Grocery comparison: How and where to bag huge savings". The Seattle Times. Seattle, Washington. July 5, 2006. Archived from the original on Apr 25, 2014.
- ^ "CHECKBOOK: Supermarkets with the best price, quality | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | Consumer News". Archived from the original on 2009-03-02.
- ^ "Supermarkets - Key Findings from Our Surveys". Archived from the original on 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2014-04-24.