Members of a co-op that came together to save a Winnipeg institution a decade ago are now being asked to vote to close it.
Pollock’s Hardware Co-op Ltd. sent members a notice of an upcoming vote to allow the board to dissolve and close the operation, after “sustained losses have demonstrated the co-op is no longer economically viable.”
In a letter, members were told that losses have mounted in spite of effort and support, poor sales can’t be overcome, and the board believes it is time to liquidate assets.
“Although it is tempting to want to fight on, to struggle to the last dollar, we must realize that our decisions have consequences,” read the letter.
It also said gift certificates will be honoured until Feb. 22.
“Although we are seeking to wind down the cooperative, we do not consider this effort to have been a failure,” it said, calling the co-op’s 10 years in operation an act of resistance against “a globalized and automated economy that doesn’t value local neighbourhoods or the social capital they contain.”
According to the co-op’s website, Pollock’s Hardware began operating at 1407 Main Street in 1922. It closed in 2007 after the owners at the time tried and failed to sell it, only to reopen as a co-op in June of 2008 after a fundraising effort. A second location opened in 2013 in South Osborne.
The dissolution vote will be held Saturday, Feb. 16.
