Page 49 - ALG Issue 3 2016

Trading Places
Or perhaps, places where trading happens. The trading hut or shop that a good number of your associations and societies have, gives many new dimensions to the ways the associations operate. Putting the simplest thing rst, it is a source of revenue beyond the rents and therefore, it is a positive addition to the range of things an association or federation can then do.
product of external events, although some of the examples I know come from a period about three decades ago when the decline in allotment take-up was at its greatest. First of all, the allotment holders do need to know that all trading is transparent by having no inferior products and a published price list with the same prices for all plot holders. Equally obvious is that the relationship between the of cers in
From what I have been able to see, the actual
physical fabric of the trading premises varies
considerably. At the really basic level of the scale,
there is a small, dark, damp area that is dif cult
to even get through the door. Whatever the
constraints, such as the lack of mains electricity,
they can still be made welcoming. At the other end
of the scale, there are inviting, large purpose-built
premises with a variety of side rooms for bagging
and preparing items for sale. Much of this depends on the total number of plot holders, for it is easier to have a larger scale set-up if there are more members and the best of those that I have seen and know of often provide goods and services for more than one site.
But the effectiveness of trading goes beyond the merely physical aspects of the building used for it. It has more to do with the quality of service provided, and that is entirely within your control. At base, if you have known opening hours – and you should – do keep to them. The really positive aspects start when the knowledge of the products and their uses by the members who sell them is there for all others to use to their advantage. That knowledge and advice is not likely to be driven entirely by commercial considerations but is so often unhurried and might not produce an immediate sale but the information will be stored. One added bonus is that everything bought is shop to plot convenient. There are instances where the pro ts from trading are not used for the direct bene t of the association but are donated to
a charity of the association’s choice, which has the positive indirect bene t of establishing the allotment association as a force for good in the local community.
There is one other area that trading opens up and that is the possibility of associate or garden members. Non-plot holders can become associate members of the association by paying its normal membership fee and they will then be able to use the trading facilities. I do know of some groups where the associate members outnumber the allotment holding members by a ratio of three to one and where the associate members travel some considerable distance to buy
at the trading hut. Both of the examples I am thinking of have good, bright premises and a very wide range of stock. Just to put on record the of cial limitations on trading, selling can be only to members
of the association and only at limited times. There are some other straightforward business practices as well as regular and known opening hours that ought to be in place to make trading work better. A list of the available goods does need to be seen and the price of each item clearly shown. Reminding members of the stock held by email or website does help here, at least at the start of the growing season and at the times when particular items like seed potatoes are being delivered.
So, why don’t we all do it? Very simply, there needs to be a minimum size to make it practical and worthwhile. But small sites could and should seek out a trading association nearby to enable them to buy the growing items they would need. Associations that manage a number of sites often have their main trading hut on just one site and that too gives scale advantages. Secondly, it does need a commitment from individuals to be at the trading premises on a regular basis and at least a minimum standard of bookkeeping to know what is being sold, to whom and for how much. There is also the issue of nding and keeping reliable, good quality suppliers of the goods you need. Together with that, all of the internal nancial processes which spill through to the annual accounts do make intermittent but real time demands. Security issues also need to be addressed as trading goods are a bigger and more lucrative target. But, as ever, the question has to be put that if the association is not going to make necessary or desired improvements through its own efforts, it is dif cult to identify where, in today’s environment, the source of even those relatively small funds is.
There are downsides and areas to try to avoid which, if they are not handled well enough, can cause trading to fold. The reasons for this happening are more likely to be internal to the association than the
charge of trading and the rest of the associations’ of cers should be transparent and accountable so that the essential trust can be built. On the darker side, if the customers in the trading hut have a vote in the association but do not have
an allotment they can set the agenda. One other dif culty that can arise affects those associations with more than one site; if there is just one trading place, the surplus from that trading ought
to be distributed across the other sites according to an agreed and published practice as it is all too easy for one site to claim that the other is getting all the bene t. It can produce not only a great degree of ill-feeling, but also break up an association into its component parts with some loss of effectiveness as far as the smaller partner or partners are concerned. None of the above are in any way inevitable but should be made a great deal less possible by robust measures of good governance where the surpluses from trading are known and distributed in an open, equitable manner known to all.
Yes, the bene ts do outweigh the costs.
Jeff Barber
Very simply, there needs to be a minimum size to make it practical and worthwhile.
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