Medford Cooperative expands with purchase of Stetsonville Oil
Medford Cooperative is continuing to grow.
The cooperative recently expanded its footprint in the local retail and energy market with the purchase of Stetsonville Oil and the Clark service station in Stetsonville.
The purchase adds a fourth service station and convenience store to the Medford Cooperative family. The company has stores in Medford, Rib Lake and Phillips.
The Stetsonville store will continue under the Clark name but will be operated by the Medford Cooperative and will be open seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
According to Medford Cooperative CEO and General Manager Chris Piotrowski, the previous owners were looking to step back, so Medford Co-op jumped at the chance to expand the business just a bit further.
“The transition has been smooth, they have been a great addition to the Medford Cooperative family,” Piotrowski said.
Brothers Brian and Rodney Dahl who own Stetsonville Oil, will continue to own the tire and auto business, but sold the gas station and bulk fuel delivery business to Medford Cooperative.
“We would like to welcome the employees and customers of Stetsonville Oil to the Medford Cooperative family. We are excited to join the Stetsonville community in the coming weeks. We want to invite community members to join the Medford Cooperative so that they can begin enjoying the benefits of being a member,” Piotrowski said.
Wednesday July 13 marked the official transition day, however there will be some remodeling done to the building before a grand opening is held.
In addition to its service stations Medford Cooperative owns the Medford County Market supermarket and a County Market in Adams-Friendship as well as Camp’s Fresh Market in St. Germain. The cooperative also owns the Medford ACE Hardware store.
According to Piotrowski, Medford Cooperative is quickly becoming the fastest growing cooperative in the state of Wisconsin with a current growth rate of 47%.
Medford Cooperative has more than doubled the number of employees in the past year. In July 2021 Piotrowski said there were 165 people employed by the Medford Cooperative. As of July 2022 there are 358 people employed by Medford Cooperative, a 117% increase.
This growth is good news for the cooperative members and the community. Cooperatives are owned by their members who profit when the company profits.
With the Medford Cooperative this is done through dividends paid to members each fall and in support to local organizations and projects.
Last year Medford Cooperative gave over $2 million back to their patrons. They also gave over $250,000 back to non-profit organizations throughout the community.
“When you are doing business with us, that money is going back to the community that you chose to do business with,” Piotrowski said.
According to Piotrowski, there is strength in numbers when it comes to the size of the business. He explained the increase in size and scale allows them to negotiate better prices from suppliers so that they can pass the savings onto their customers.
Growth also allows the Medford Cooperative to retire and pay out customer stock for its agricultural producer members.
On the retail side, he said the growth allows the Medford Cooperative to offer increased services to their customers and patrons.
