CRAIG W. SEEDHOUSE — CV

2020 - 2024 — Linnaea Farm Society, Cortes Island, BC.

  • Board chair & advisor

2012 - 2021 — Co-Owner / Operator, Cortes Island Vacation Rentals, Cortes Island, BC.

  • 30+ vacation rental properties under management.

  • Business activities include marketing and booking of vacation rentals, guest services, and property management.

November 2004 - Dec 2011 — Co-Owner / Operator, Salt Spring Natureworks, Salt Spring Island, BC.

  • Coordinated significant renovations & rebranding upon acquisition.

  • Responsibilities included all aspects of daily business operations of natural health and complimentary medicines shop: inventory management, product selection, hiring, scheduling, development & supervision of 10-15 staff members, branding, merchandising, and financial management.

  • Annual turnover of $2M within 2,000 square foot of retail space.

  • Grew sales from $900K to $2.2M in the first 3 years.

  • Won organic shop of the year in BC, 2005.

April 2002 - February 2004 — Operations Manager, Daylesford / Wootton Organic Ltd, Gloucester & Staffordshire, UK.

  • Coordinator of all organic activities on two estates covering 6,000 acres. The businesses included Wootton Organic Wholesale (meat production), Daylesford Creamery, and Daylesford Organic Farmshop.

  • Responsibilities included overall strategic development, management of all financial aspects of the businesses against agreed budgets, project management, and brand development.

  • Direct supervision of 9 managers and 35 + staff members over 3 businesses and head office.

  • Designed, set up, and opened Daylesford Organic Farmshop, which included a production kitchen, bakery & café, as well as creating a shop design for future growth.

  • Grew weekly sales for Daylesford Farmshop from ₤12K to ₤45K

  • Grew weekly sales for Wootton Organic Wholesale from ₤2K to ₤15K

    • Industry & Consumer Awards:

      • Daylesford Organic Farmshop - Soil Association Best Organic Store 2003

      • Wootton Organic Wholesale - Soil Association Best Organic Sausages 2003

      • Daylesford Creamery- Soil Association Best Organic Cheese 2003

      • Daylesford Creamery - British Cheese Awards 2002 & 2003

Jan 1999 - Jan 2002 — Director of New Store Development, Fresh & Wild Ltd, London, UK.

  • Responsible for establishing the business in the UK and for strategizing future growth.

  • Opened the Camden branch as the store manager with direct supervision of 50 staff members.

  • Ensured that new shop locations opened on time and on budget.

  • Grew the Company from 1 store to 6 stores with annual sales of ₤16M

  • Developed: “New Store Opening Guide”, “ Grocery and Produce Operational Procedures”, and “Grocery Merchandising Guidelines”.

    • Industry & Consumer Awards:

      • Camden - Soil Association Retailer of the Year 1999

      • Camden - Natural Products Retailer of the Year 2000

      • Notting Hill - Soil Association Best Large Store 2000

      • Lavender Hill - Natural Products Best New Store 2001

  • Company acquired by Whole Foods Market.

June 1997 - December 1998 — Natural Products Consultant, Covercrop Marketing & Consulting.

  • Owned and operated consulting business targeted towards the natural products industry in US market.

  • Services and projects included:

    • Management training and support systems

    • Education of staff and community

    • Marketing plans and budgets

    • Designing community outreach programs Evaluations of store operations

    • Product selection, buying, and merchandising

February 1997 - Dec 1997 — Contract Project Manager, Good Nature Markets, Victoria, BC, Santa Barbara & Del Mar, CA.

  • Recruited to help with transitions of acquired businesses.

  • Transition team member with a focus on operations and merchandising.

  • Participated in 2 additional US acquisitions in Santa Barbara and Del Mar.

  • Training staff for newly introduced company policies and procedures.

  • Company was acquired by Wild Oats Markets.

1992 - 1997 — Caper’s Community Markets (Wild Oats Markets), Vancouver, BC.

  • Started as grocery clerk (West Van)

  • Promoted to assistant grocery manager (Kitsilano)

  • Promoted to grocery manager (Kitsilano)

  • Promoted to general manager (Robson Street):

    • Management of all financial aspects of the business: profit and loss, gross margin control, labor percentages, controllable costs and performance against budget.

    • Direct supervision of 6 managers and 90+ store team members.

    • Coordinated the opening of the Robson Street store, while performing the role of General Manager, with opening sales of $110K weekly.

    • Increased weekly sales by 41% within 18 months of opening.