Free series promotes prosperous and sustainable ownership transition, organizers say
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Rural grocery stores – and the communities they serve – face many challenges, including maintaining access to healthy food when the business changes ownership.
Erica Blair, a program manager for K-State Research and Extension’s Rural Grocery Initiative, said the list of questions include:
• Who will take over the store once the store’s owner moves on?
• What steps should be taken before exiting? And, when?
• How can grocers maximize business value?
• Who can help?
Blair said the Rural Grocery Initiative will kick off a free webinar series, titled Rural Grocery Succession Planning, on Jan. 20 and continuing the third Thursday of each month in 2022.
The monthly webinars are free and open to the public, but registration is required. Grocers, prospective business owners, resource providers, economic developers, city leaders and community stakeholders are encouraged to attend.
According to a recent survey conducted by K-State’s Rural Grocery Initiative, about 40% of rural grocers in Kansas expect to transition away from their business in the next 5-10 years. Blair said the findings also indicate 81% have no plan for future ownership.
“These findings demonstrate a tremendous need for greater technical assistance on this issue,” she said. “Business transitions are inevitable, and planning ahead puts grocers in a stronger position. It also gives community members greater assurance that they’ll continue having access to healthy, affordable food.”
Last spring, the Rural Grocery Initiative hosted a related series called Keeping Groceries Alive: Successful Ownership Transitions for Rural Grocery Stores. As an extension of their Heartland Challenge grant, which is funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Rural Grocery Initiative will dive even deeper into succession planning topics throughout 2022, according to program leader Rial Carver.
“A lot is involved in a business transition. Now that we’ve laid the foundation, it’s time to dig into the more technical details of this process,” Carver said. “This includes the nuts and bolts of various community-supported ownership models that have emerged across rural Kansas, like cooperatives, municipally-owned stores, nonprofits and more.”
More information on the monthly webinars and support for Kansas business owners is available online from the K-State Research and Extension Rural Grocery Initiative.
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FOR PRINT PUBLICATIONS: Links used in this story
Rural Grocery Initiative, https://www.ruralgrocery.org
Rural Grocery Succession Planning (online registration), https://www.ruralgrocery.org/events/Rural-Grocery-Succession-Planning.html
K State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county extension offices, experiment fields, area extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K State campus in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.ksre.ksu.edu. K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
For more information:
Erica Blair
[email protected]
Rial Carver
[email protected]
