Heritage Hill: Our Cooperative Journey
Welcome!
Brandon Z. Hoff
Founder, Heritage Hill
Heritage HillCooperative
An e-commerce cooperative specializing in collegiate apparel and textiles, with a focus on Historically Black Universities and Divine Nine organizations.
Operating from 2019 to 2023, Heritage Hill served as a proof-of-concept for cooperative supply chain management in the collegiate marketplace, exploring logistics, distribution, and omni-channel sales operations from an 8,000 sq ft facility.
Research Focus Areas
- Multi-stakeholder Cooperative Legal Frameworks
- Omni-channel Technology Stack Integration
- Manufacturing & Logistics Networks
- Collegiate Licensing Partnership Requirements
- Blended Capital Stack for Sustainable Wages
- Marketing Automation at Scale
Key Learnings
Cooperatizing Commercial Communities
The key to building successful cooperative businesses lies in identifying and transforming existing commercial communities. This process—cooperatizing—means consolidating fragmented supply chains into coordinated, community-owned networks.
A supply chain encompasses every step from raw materials to end consumer: production, manufacturing, distribution, and all supporting services. When these elements are aggregated within an existing buying community, we create the foundation for a viable cooperative ecosystem.
Identified Buying Community
We've identified a stable, growing commercial community within the HBCU ecosystem. This community has consistent annual purchasing patterns and expands naturally with enrollment growth.
Cooperative Network Opportunities
Each step in the supply chain represents potential cooperative businesses that can be consolidated for community benefit.
Supporting Services
Professional services that can be shared across the network
Marketing
Brand & PR strategy
Legal
Compliance & contracts
Finance
Accounting & reporting
Operations
Business support
Building Economic Infrastructure
This section chronicles our journey from a basement startup to a cooperative model, highlighting critical learnings about building resilient enterprises within the Black diaspora.
Select a year above to view key events and milestones
Financial Details
Detailed breakdown of income and expenses
| Category | Q4 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $68,377 | $624,938 | $1,279,272 | $804,546 | $199,481 | $3,017,876 | |
| $38,627 | $429,447 | $693,682 | $408,177 | $66,867 | $1,636,801 | |
| $21,106 | $200,807 | $509,068 | $582,763 | $224,044 | $1,537,900 | |
| Net Operating Income | $8,644 | $1,808 | $108,325 | -$184,062 | -$91,430 | -$156,826 |
Financial Overview
Monthly Income, COGS, and Operating Expenses
This visualization shows our key financial metrics over time, highlighting the relationship between income, costs, and operating expenses.
- Revenue growth patterns
- Cost management effectiveness
- Operating expense trends
Profitability Trends
Gross Profit and Net Operating Income
Track our profitability metrics over time, showing the relationship between gross profit and net operating income.
- Profit margin trends
- Operating efficiency
- Seasonal patterns
Sales by Channel
Monthly sales across online, retail, and wholesale channels
This chart illustrates our multi-channel sales strategy and its evolution...
- Channel mix evolution over time
- Seasonal patterns by channel
- Impact of retail partnerships and wholesale relationships
Marketing Performance
Monthly ad spend and online sales
This visualization demonstrates our marketing efficiency and the relationship between advertising investments and sales outcomes.
- Ad spend optimization patterns
- Sales response to marketing investments
- Impact of iOS 14.5 and other market changes