Author Topic: A grocery store focused on employees  (Read 2867 times)

lpep

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A grocery store focused on employees
« on: November 10, 2014, 02:29:52 AM »
http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryjosephs/2014/11/05/millionaire-grocery-clerks-the-amazing-winco-foods-story/

The gist: WinCo, a big grocery store, shares profit (?) with its employees. The article quotes a 42-year-old employee who has $1M worth of company stock and could retire early if she wanted to.

Thoughts? This sounds like such a good idea, I feel like I'm missing something.

RFAAOATB

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Re: A grocery store focused on employees
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2014, 08:33:52 AM »
Is there a non diversification problem of too much of the workers eggs in the company stock basket?  If the company crashes and burns then all the retirements are screwed.

forestbound

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Re: A grocery store focused on employees
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2014, 08:38:28 AM »
I agree about the diversification, but I love the business model. The wealth of the company goes to the employee/owners, and they in turn are truly invested in the success of the company. We have a local grocery store that is company owned, doesn't take credit cards, I shop there whenever I can!

slugline

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Re: A grocery store focused on employees
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2014, 09:17:23 AM »
I'd be curious to know when the employees are fully-vested in the company stock, and if they have the opportunity to diversify. A downturn in business could mean both losing your job and your savings at the same time.

golden1

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Re: A grocery store focused on employees
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2014, 11:35:57 AM »
Market Basket, a local chain in the northeast, is a very employee friendly supermarket chain.  This summer they went on strike to oust the new CEOs and reinstate the old one, because they knew that those CEOs would gut the generous benefit and profit sharing programs the old CEO put in place.  They won, and the old CEO is back in charge.

Amanda

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Re: A grocery store focused on employees
« Reply #5 on: November 11, 2014, 10:32:19 AM »
Winco is very Mustachian. Not just because of its employee-owned business model, but also because it is consistently cheaper than any other store. I won't shop at WalMart for many reasons, but I've no desire to because Winco is always less expensive and Winco always has better options than WalMart! They sell a wide variety of bulk foods where I can stock up on oats, nuts, beans, coffee, and spices for less per ounce than anywhere else. They also offer affordable wine, a wide selection of ethnic foods, and good fresh fruits and veggies (including organic options)!