Dear SPC Owners,
As we move into Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to send out an update.
Since you just received a report from Stephen regarding our volume and
Jeff regarding the market, I will not be redundant here. Suffice it to
say that we are in a very strong position right now compared to last
year at this time. While margins are down slightly, volume is up
substantially. With the heart of the salmon season just ahead of us,
we are gearing up to handle all the Kings, Cohos, and Chums you can
deliver our way. We are confident in our markets, and have customer
requests for significantly more volume than we sold last year.
A couple years ago, SPC started a small program to offer custom
processing to our members. The B2B program was a very expensive failure
for SPC. As we looked at the numbers, we were incurring a loss to the
detriment of all co-op owners. The true price we would need to charge to
account for all labor, materials, overhead, and losses in efficiency
would be excessive. The price for B2B processing would exceed our
wholesale price margin that we charge for product in Bellingham. As a
team, we have decided to end our B2B program, for 2019.
We have added some options for people who are looking to have a larger role in marketing fish from their co-op:
- Kirk Hardcastle is heading up our Ambassador Program. This program is evolving rapidly from the sample box concept. If you have great ideas on how to market SPC fish, Kirk will be a great asset on how SPC can help make that happen for you and your customers.
- Wholesale purchases of fish can be made by members through Jeff Reynolds. This is a nice option because you can sell the product and then put in an order. These orders are sold FOB Bellingham. Logistics of frozen product are much easier to handle than Alaska projects.
- Homepack options: We are working on updating our homepack offerings at SPC. More details about this will be sent out shortly. We will be offering 100 pounds of product from inventory to members at our cost. This will be dock price plus our inhouse cost of processing. The target is to be the same net cost as our traditional homepack system. The product line will be limited but readily available in Sitka or Bellingham. The perk is the packaging. Because this will be from inventory and not from a fish ticket marked as ‘personal use’, you can feed your family and crew or you can sell it. This will provide a small opportunity for our owners to spread the word about the great things going on at SPC.
Coastal Transportation: We need to correct the sailing departure for the Coastal Tramper. It is scheduled to depart Seattle on June 7th.
Their rate for general Cargo (Costco) is around $20/hundred pounds for
this voyage. If you have special cargo (appliance, tires, or leads)
please check on pricing before you send cargo their way. For exact
pricing, please contact JP at Coastal directly, 206-696-5073. He can
connect you with the traffic managers that will receive your goods for
the boat. Your freight can be charged to your SPC account or you can pay
Coastal directly.
I hope you can tell there is a different vibe now at SPC. Change is
never easy, but often times it’s necessary. I’m extremely proud of
what my entire staff has accomplished thus far this year, and I believe
it will only get better. I wish you and yours a very happy holiday
weekend. Let us never forget those brave men and women who gave their
lives so that you and I can enjoy our freedoms. Happy Memorial Day!
All the best,
Joe
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