If anyone is a member of a credit union, they should understand this model.
A credit union is the same as a bank except the “customers” are called “members”. Your minimum deposit into the credit union is your ownership share.
My guess is they will require “members” to live in a specific geographic area and agree to some type of membership agreement and maybe pay an annual membership fee (like Costco or Sams).
They will likely have an elected board of directors who will hire and fire senior management. The senior management will be responsible for the hiring of staff and of day to day operations of the organization.
Imagine an HOA in charge of your food.
Jokes aside, co-ops can work. Just like unions can work. But, not one minute after you hire a big staff and prevent members from seeing the books.
Trust, but verify.
Thanks. Sounds like a good possibility. I’ve heard grocery stores have rather low margins. However I wish them luck. I’m not much of a fan of large corporations being in charge of everything. Local control sounds good.