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Final nail not yet in coffin
Customers hope to turn hardware store into co-op

By Avi Saper
Canstar News

Jan. 3, 2008



There’s new hope that a North End institution for 85 years may not need to close its doors.

A group of concerned residents and regular customers are looking into the possibility of turning Pollock Hardware into a co-operative, using a model similar to Red River Co-op gas stations.

The Main Street store has been for sale for more than a year, and is in the process of selling off its remaining inventory in a final clearance.

John Loxley, an economics professor at the University of Manitoba, is spearheading the effort to keep the store open. He said he has sat down and looked at the books with the owners, Lois and Wayne Cash, and is satisfied that the business is still viable.

The next step is to come up with a business plan. The likely plan would involve a fee for members that would give them the right to shop in the store. If the business is a success, members could receive profit-sharing payments.

“There’s quite a bit of interest from people. Now we need to figure out what we need to ask people to contribute,” said Loxley, who lives near the store and feels it’s an important institution in the community.

Several longtime customers said the personal and knowledgeable service of Pollock’s staff has kept them coming back for decades. Lois Cash said customers have told her the relatively small size of the store makes it much easier to get in and get out than big-box stores.

Louise Thiessen, another resident involved in the co-op effort, said it’s important to keep small businesses thriving in the area.

“The last thing we need is another business shuttered on Main Street,” she said.

Loxley has met with various financial institutions, financing agencies and economic development groups to determine how much the co-op might be able to borrow to pay for the business. The group is also looking into any tax credits it may be eligible for.

“We hope to very shortly call a meeting of people who might be interested once we know what the business plan might look like,” said Loxley.

“We need to know by January whether this thing is likely to come together.”