3.0. SR 04-02-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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EAR IN E VIEW I began the annual report for 1999 by stating that I was blessed with the best staff I had ever worked with and this year's review can begin the same way. The group at Northbound Liquor are truly a dedicated group of individuals who worked extremely well together and if you notice the start dates on the Department Staff page you'll know they are also a very loyal group. In 2000 we again set a record with gross sales topping $4,000,000 and net sales reaching $3,787,000. Net sales were up $306,000 over 1999 figures representing an 8% increase. Our customer counts increased by 4,503. Much of these yearly increases are attributable to the huge growth the Elk River area has experienced the past few years. It is not just Elk River that is growing, Sherburne County is also experiencing explosive growth and this will present new challenges for us to grow and remain profitable. For example, Zimmerman now has three stores in a relatively small community. These stores are hoping to capture some of the ever- increasing traffic on Highway 169. Big Lake, as another example, is the fastest growing community in the County. Their municipal store will undoubtedly benefit from the increased traffic on Highway 10. The good news is we are well positioned to meet these challenges. The present Northbound store is a well-known and respected operation that is ready to adjust and adapt to the changing market on the north side. The city owns property for a future westbound store, which combined with our present store, would be able to capture a good portion of the western market. Another challenge to our growth and future profitability is the proposed legislation that would allow the sale of wine in grocery stores. The two associations we belong to (MMBA and MLBA) are vigorously fighting this proposal. The City Council has shown its opposition by passing a resolution opposing wine sales anywhere but liquor stores and by approving a special dues assessment from MMBA to help pay for lobbying efforts against the bill. I also participated in MMBNMLBA "Day at the Capita!', whereby I personally spoke with state senators and representatives. As in 1999, all clerks attended a server-training refresher course in 2000 as part of an ongoing effort to keep employees aware of the complexities and consequences of selling alcohol. We successfully passed all state required compliance checks for alcohol and cigarettes. Regular employee meetings are held (usually every other month) where store policies and procedures are discussed along with product knowledge training.