(March 2014) — This is an excerpt from Management’s report to the Board on its interpretation of and compliance with one of our Ends policies based on 2013 activity.
Ends Policy C: PCC Has a Local Focus
Interpretation: Management interprets Ends Policy C to mean that PCC’s retail business focuses primarily on the Puget Sound region for its customer base, giving preference to producers, suppliers, community organizations and other partners located in or near our market area.
For the purposes of store locations, “local” is within the Puget Sound region (mostly King and Snohomish counties) and close enough to existing stores such that PCC is at least somewhat familiar to residents and there is an existing base of PCC members among them. For procurement purposes, “local” is equivalent to “Northwest” and encompasses the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and southern British Columbia. Supporting a “local focus” does not preclude doing business with non-local organizations when doing so better serves our membership and the long-term well-being of PCC.
COMPLIANCE INDICATORS
- Store locations are one of the key indicators of compliance. This year, as in prior years, PCC did not seek to expand outside of its current market area, defined as the greater Seattle metropolitan area. Management believes that the best opportunities for successful new stores lie within neighborhoods that overlap or complement those already served by PCC.
- 2013 ended in anticipation of the development in the Green Lake neighborhood. [The Greenlake Village store opened in June 2014.] Also under construction is our future Columbia City store, scheduled to open in spring or mid-2015.
- Product sourcing: Last year we again demonstrated our commitment to local by adding dozens of new product vendors located in Washington and Oregon. We also continued to work with local companies for our non-sales supply and service needs.