 Our Speaker Ken Keelor  Bill Redmond Thanking Our Speaker | Doug Webb introduced Ken Keelor, CEO of Calgary Co-op. Mr. Keelor's presentation provided a brief overview of Calgary Co-op, which focused on his five years leading the co-op. On joining Calgary Co-op, Mr. Keelor developed a strategic plan to guide its continued evolution. The co-op's vision is to touch the lives of our community by being respected as the best, most trusted place to shop every day. It works to realize this vision by delivering exceptional customer experiences, products and services that sustain and grow its business and communities. Calgary Co-op's core values include service, caring and excellence.
Its values can be seen in the co-op being able to celebrate one of its employees achieving his fiftieth anniversary with the cooperative. Additionally, Calgary Co-op received recognition as one of Alberta's Top 75 Employers in 2019. Its community contributions include Stuff a Bus (Calgary Food Bank), Time for Turkeys (Meals on Wheels), and Turkey Ham Jam (Mustard Seed). In response to customer feedback, Calgary Co-op's recent expansions include the acquisition of Community Natural Foods, reinvigorated pharmacies, increased natural product choices and creation of the Sunridge Home Health Centre. Recreational consumption, comprising liquor and cannabis, is another focus area for Calgary Co-op. |
The co-op offers wine tastings, sommelier education, and wine lockers at several of its locations. It also offers over 1200 varieties of scotch at its World of Whiskey store. It entered the cannabis business to allow customers to buy a needed product in a safe, trusted environment with knowledgeable staff.
Innovation is crucial to Calgary Co-op. It has eliminated single-use plastic bags from its stores, which amounts to a reduction of 33 million bags annually. In the last five years, the co-op has rolled out new pharmacy software, online membership signups, a new rewards program and a liquor e-commerce program.
In the next five years, Calgary Co-op will focus on sourcing more food locally, continuing to build out its real estate portfolio with new stores and renovations to existing locations, the continued growth of its whole health initiatives, and the evolution of its retail gasoline operations. Its strategic imperatives for the next five years will include delivering exceptional customer experiences, improving its operational efficiency, optimizing its assets, inspiring all team members and achieving product leadership.
In August 2019, Calgary Co-op announced a switchover to the Alberta warehouse of Save On Foods as its primary food distributor. It took this step to improve its financial position, and to source more of its products locally. What will not change as a result of this transition is its commitment to the Calgary marketplace as it remains a uniquely distinctive Calgary cooperative.
After an informative question and answer session, Bill Redmond thanked Mr. Keelor for his presentation.