Use It or Lose It Part 1: Manor Mart

By Bob Buddemeier

In the recently distributed RVM FY 2022-2023 Budget Summary, the following statement appears:

Translation:  Don’t expect RVM to subsidize this forever.

As far as I could find out, there is not a firm timeline or net income amount set for determining whether the Manor Mart stays or goes, but the warning is clear.

Why do we need it?  For people without cars, or with limited mobility, it can be nearly essential.  Mart Manager Alicia Aldrich says that some residents do essentially all of their shopping there.  This says a lot about the combination of stocked goods and ordering possibilities that the Mart offers – people who get their meals provided can find almost all of the household and personal items they need.

Alicia also says that the markups are low – comparable to most retail outlets.  This means that somebody who hops in the car to go to Freddie’s and pick up some minor item is paying an additional $0.50-1.00 for gas, taking an extra 20+ minutes, and dealing with the hassles of traffic and parking.  Why would they do it?  Force of habit is one answer, but there are some others.  One issue is that of hours.  If your head hurts at 7 p.m. and you’re out of Tylenol, or if you get a desperate craving for an ice cream bar on Sunday, you’re out of luck as far as the Mart is concerned.  This is a tough problem, because staying open requires people and people are expensive.

What can be done to increase business?  Without using the “advertising” word, we can discuss awareness-raising and attention-getting,  Those activities might be combined with sales or featured items, or just used as the Channel 900 spots are – for information and encouragement

The Complement is willing to run Manor Mart notices. I would hope that hillTopics and Bits and Pieces would do the same for this in-house resource that benefits the residents.  But what ad agency is going to organize this campaign and generate the material?  Alicia is the one-woman do-everything proprieter whose time is taken up with managing and trying to improve and expand store services.   Couldn’t we find some residents with retail or PR experience who would be willing to support the Manor Mart on a volunteer basis?  This would be a real service. (see comment on “support” in the reply section below)

Another point – the Manor Mart was (re) established after sustained resident (including Resident Council) pressure and requests.  OK, activists, you got it – now what are you going to do to keep it?  It seems to me that this is something deserving of sustained attention and support – a task force or support team organized by the Residents Council.  Or, if that can’t happen, an independent group of people who really care.  There are numerous examples of that happening at RVM.

There need to be some solutions found, because the problem is well-defined: if enough people don’t use it, we all lose it.