It was a big year in 2022 for Pioneer Coop. 

That much was evident during their Annual General Meeting, which they held earlier this week. 

During the meeting, some key highlights were the fact that they managed to achieve $337 million in sales. That is a new record for the southwest retailer, which Pioneer Coop CEO, Larry Kozun, is happy to see translate into windfalls for their members. 

"Our Board of Directors approved a 2022 return to its members of $14 million in patronage allocation," said Kozun. "A general repayment of over $12 million of this allocation will be returned to our members, in cash, in June of 2023."

Over the course of the last fiscal year, Pioneer Coop also managed to expand its assets into some new ventures. They managed to open up a new filling station in Swift Current, just off Highway Four and acquired the rights to the Husky Service Station on the corner of Sixth Avenue Northeast and South Service Road East. 

"The Husky service station will be closed the first week of May and will be rebranded to Co-op," shared Kozun. "Pioneer Coop has been strategically investing in opportunities to grow and adapt our business in these changing times, whether it is the purchase of the Husky service station, the purchase of the liquor retail sales permit, future mall food refrigeration upgrades and replacements, or capital investments in Bracken and Eastend." 

Pioneer Coop managed to get the winning bid on a liquor license auction earlier this year. This license and others across the province became available after the provincial government shut down all their SLGA liquor vendors. 

"We are finalizing our plans on possible future liquor store sites," Kozun shared," and we'll be presenting these to our Board of Directors in May."

A big lesson they learned was that while inflation prices bolstered the end result, they negatively affected consumer spending. 

"Circumstances continued to make us adapt and evolve," said Kozun. "2022, much like 2021, was a difficult year for several reasons. We've seen continued supply chain shortages, volatile pricing, and inflationary pressure on all of our product lines."

Larry ended by thanking all 19 communities in which the Pioneer Coop is based. 

"Together, we feed, we fuel, and we grow southwest Saskatchewan," said Kozun. "We play an integral role in our communities. We are there not only to serve our membership but to support the communities that we operate in, building sustainable communities together."