Indie store update

The new Yolla Co-Op in LaTrobe (TAS) is expected to open in December and its philosophy of "buying better" will continue for its customers and members. General manager, Ben Davis told The Advocate:

It means everything to our business. It is the drive and the reason we exist. We need to make sure as a business we do everything in our power to support our community.

For our Latrobe store opening, we are running a member giveaway [and] every member has a chance to win.

Yolla Co-Op is a farmer's co-operative that supplies an extensive range of rural merchandise to Tasmanian farmers. Formed in 1977 by a handful of farmers from Yolla in North West Tasmania, today the Co-Op serves around a thousand members throughout the state.

The business currently employs 24 staff, and it is recruiting for the new Latrobe store. Mr Davis said:

In the beginning, there were no salaries, it was just farmers working together to make sure that everyone got the best deal.

The decision to choose a Co-Op was critical to the philosophy that these farmers were trying to instil. To this day, the Co-Op still holds all those values and beliefs that every member is equally as important as one another.

But together, by using the purchasing power of the combined membership, we're able to provide our members with the best possible price...

The store features around 3,500 product lines for the upkeep of the farm, animal health and wellbeing, pet care, pasture and cropping, and home and hardware.

Feedback from members led the Co-Op to acquire the Latrobe site after another good year with record sales and strong profits. Mr Davis believes what makes the business special is that it is owned by Tasmanians, who are involved in the local community.

Related: A new Yolla Co-Op store was proposed for a site in Latrobe (TAS) earlier this year.

Retail update: Yolla Co-op - HNN Flash #45, May 2021

Source: The Advocate