WinCo: worker-owned grocery chain pays benefits, pensions, living wages, lower prices than Walmart

Worker owned stores? That is an awesome idea! That will keep people working hard, and making better jobs availble!

WinCo is not a bad store and they really do have lower prices, I've been shopping for groceries there sporadically over the last decade. I don't know how many states they are in right now but it's a west coast company -- their name Winco comes from Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California and Oregon. I'm pretty sure they've expanded into a couple of other states as well, but I would not call it a mid-western company, it's purely west coast.

reply to post by dominicus


My hometown had a WinCo, I loved it! Open 24hrs, really cheap prices. But yes not much of a selection....lets say you want campbells soup...they may have only one kind of soup, but they have it stacked 4 pallets high to the ceiling and priced really low!
What's funny is that I remember lots of union protests and picket lines when WinCo opened...I have to imagine if they were union they would not be able to offer the prices they do

Just wish I could find a winco that didn't smell or look like a third world market.

reply to post by dominicus


After the tiniest bit of research into this company (never heard of it before), I don't believe it is a true 'Worker Owned" business. The company offers employees stock after certain qualifications are met.

That may be good business, as are a living wage, benefits, and opportunity for growth, but a Worker Owned Business - I don't think so. I think it's smart PR.

You people make me laugh. You think this great? What egos you have. Try a public market in Asia. You can get anything you want at a cost lower than grocery stores. Oh yeah...that is not allowed now in the US. You can't even have a lemonade stand now. I wonder why. You want locally grown and fresh veggies? They are there. You want fresh pork? It is there. You want fresh chicken? It is there. You want fresh fish of many kinds? It is there. You want flour or basically anything, it is there.

They will cut your fish the way you want it. All the veggies are fresh and locally grown and not in bags. It is a bunch of local people selling their goods.

The one I know very well is larger than any Walmart. It is huge. You can can get lost walking through it.

The point is, it is better for people to do there thing like farming or preparing and get paid for it, not some company just selling this stuff. Things have gone away from the people in the US and you either know that or you need to know that. That is one of the problems...corporations.

I said egos. The reason why is because how many of you would "lower" yourself to go to public market?

You are thinking highly of a corporation, but don't care about the people that make all that is there.

reply to post by gator2001


sounds great from a consumer's standpoint.

but how many people does this asain market employ? you mean i cant go there and apply for a job? you mean i only profit from it if im the actual one producing the goods?

what if im not a farmer or butcher and cannot produce anything myself? what good does this market do me then?

i suppose i could just steal stuff, seeing as how there's no central authority.

reply to post by dominicus


Nice. Hopefully they'll start showing up in Georgia. The day they do, they'll have a faithful customer!

The only time I step into Wal-Mart is when I find the old pre-super center era ones, and then it's only because I'm feeling nostalgic of a time when I was young and dumb and spent my money on cheap crap.

Your point is stupid. All of these people have jobs. They sell things. What job can you have? Put your mind to doing something.

i always use to get real excited as a kid anytime we went to costco.

because every aisle has like 3-4 little old ladies with free sample tables.


man you could go to costco on an empty stomach and go home fed.

long live little weenies on toothpicks!

While I do respect and admire the business model, this business will not take over Wal-Mart if it maintains the same exact business model, not even in thirty years. I would like to point out marketing is a big factor in cost. If it is true that prices are on average lower than Wal-Mart, it is probably due to the fact that Wal-Mart puts their ads in every form of media you can possibly be exposed to. Nearly every channel you watch will run a Wal-Mart ad. Most magazines will have a page with their name on it every month. The newspapers and many almot every station available in your market will also run ads. I do not see a company like WinCo being able to compete on that level of marketing without raising prices. WinCo is primarily a grocery chain. Wal-Mart was always primarily a general merchandise store.

If I cant buy TV's, car accessories, vacuum cleaners, furniture, baby clothes, toys, and gardening supplies in one stop, that will probably have an effect on consumer visits.

Yes, I do work at Wal-Mart, but I would gladly do my groceries at WinCo if they ever make it out to Florida in my lifetime. Until then, I can do my groceries at Wal-Mart while my car is having tires installed and an oil change, while the boys are getting a haircut, the wife can get her nails done, and I can buy me something new from the electronics. It is really hard to beat an honest to God one stop shop with good prices.

It is the new walmart. Walmart started in a similar fashion. Then it grew into an out of control monster that it is today. Walmarts in canada are supposed to be good to work for, at least according to a cousin in NS. She gets a decent wage and stock options and supplimentary health and dental plan.

Originally posted by Malynn
I saw something like this in Madison, WI but it wasn't a WinCo I don't think. It was an employee-owned grocery store and it seemed pretty big, clean, and new looking. We didn't end up going in and checking it out because there were signs everywhere stating they don't take credit cards and that was the only form of payment we had on us. We were very intrigued by it though. I love this idea and I hope it catches fire and puts the feudal lords out of business.

I believe that would be Woodman's. That grocery chain has a similar employee-owned model to WinCo. I go to the one in Kenosha on occasion. They don't always beat some of the bigger or other local chains on price, but selection and freshness of food always seems good. I figure it doesn't hurt to pay a little more on occasion if employees are paid well enough and you get good service.

reply to post by pauljs75


And nobody even sees my post. You can get anything at the public market here.

reply to post by DYepes


you can buy all of those things at costco and theres roughly 20 or so of them already in your state.

reply to post by gator2001


selection is just one factor of commerce.

public market has no consumer protection. amongst other things...

I would like to know where the supposed WinCos are that are clean or have fresh fruits and veggies.

Yes, their dry goods are amazingly cheap, but I wouldn"t touch my local WinCos produce with a ten foot pole.
As I said before, I have reported health code violations for mine.

At the same time, I love the prices of the dry goods.

Originally posted by TKDRL
It is the new walmart. Walmart started in a similar fashion. Then it grew into an out of control monster that it is today. Walmarts in canada are supposed to be good to work for, at least according to a cousin in NS. She gets a decent wage and stock options and supplimentary health and dental plan.

I get all that too, and I live in Florida. So is WinCo the future Wal-Mart?? That means at some point WinCo will not be praised in about thirty years due to the changes they will likely put into effect with the evolution and growth of the company. Like that episode of south park where they destroy the Wall-Mart and start shopping at their local general store. Then it time lapses as increased business makes him boom, he grows too big, and they burn that one down. Then they do it again to another small general store right after that it grows and they burn it down again.

Originally posted by gladtobehere
reply to post by dominicus

 

The story is a bit misleading.

The boing boing article sources an article in TIME, which in turn sources an article from the Idaho Statesman.

I'm not seeing where they pay a "livable wage". Their retirement benefits seem ok but thats only if the employees have been with the company long enough:

Some of those employee owners have plump pensions. Especially those who got in on the ground floor. People who work at WinCo long enough will qualify for a pension that gives them a slice of WinCo's fortune. The company pours an amount equal to 20 percent of an employee's total yearly pay into a pension plan.

The store being "employee owned" is definitely misleading. Looks like the CEO and a few other wealthy "employees" negotiated a buyout:

Former CEO Bill Long joined the company in its early years... The chain as we know it today started in 1985. That's when Long and other employees negotiated a buyout, making it an employee-owned company.

And here they are complaining about GMO labeling:

Other possible legislative changes — labels having to say whether foods contain genetically modified products, for example — would add "an awful lot of costs" to WinCo's business, he says.

So are they "better" than Walmart, I guess so. Who knows?

edit on 13-8-2013 by gladtobehere because: (no reason given)

were im at, they pay more than a livable wage, and pay out fat once you stop working there, i worked there for five years and when they pay me out in a few years I will be able to do something other than just pay rent and get by, which i have been doing since i was a kid. The medical benefits are great, and they give a reasonable amount of paid vacation and bonuses when the budget allows. I have gotten a 200 dollar grocery voucher more than once. So dont down play somthing you dont know about.

the cons

sub par produce
High school like infascructer(cool kids/outcasts)
disgusting bulk foods section( dont get anything from the open bins, but sealed dispensing bins are cool)

it is basically a place were everyone on food stamps shops. I have nothing against people that need food stamps to survive but when you see a 400 pound lady, with 6 little fat kids buying nothing but junk food and soda it is very depressing.

When you see tweakers selling the food they receive from the goverment for half price so they can score a bag it is depressing

When you get yelled at by a bitter soul for stocking the shelfs because there is cases in the aisle, its disgusting, those ahole customers wouldn't be able to get such cheap food if we didnt stock graveyard shift every night and holidays

I have a new appreciation for life not working there anymore, yet it has made me more cynical at times, but in the end I getting paid more than pocket change for the time I did. I suggest you look more deeply than your internet sources

Originally posted by TKDRL
It is the new walmart. Walmart started in a similar fashion. Then it grew into an out of control monster that it is today. Walmarts in canada are supposed to be good to work for, at least according to a cousin in NS. She gets a decent wage and stock options and supplimentary health and dental plan.

If capitalism really worked, would not everybody get a decent wage, stock options and supplimentary health and dental plan?