OK, so the idea is to run ‘neutral’ and use what you get from sales to restock.
So you buy 10 items at 50p and sell your 10 items giving you £5 to spend.
Next time the same items are 60p, but you still want 10, where does the extra pound come from?
As has been said, the money gets given to the CWC and they do whatever they need to do.
You buy them (sqn fund anyway) - sell 'em at £0.60! Extra £ recovered. 
I try to make between 50 and a 100% mark up on stock. This will cover re-stocking and damages. the surplus goes back to the Sqn Welfare Fund. It keeps subs cheaper and every penny helps the sqn. Like has been said above, cadets or staff do not have to buy from the canteen, and some don’t buy every night.
The sqn is not going to make mega bucks but makes between £4-£8 a parade night, perhaps £40 a month.
We treat the canteen as a separate fund, making enough to cover costs with any surplus (except about £150 float for restock) going towards reducing the costs for the Xmas do in December. We run it on the principle that the canteen fund can only be used to benefit all cadets (assuming they come), while the welfare fund as a whole could be used to subsidise an individual, buy toner etc.
We used to run it almost at cost but costs crept up and there is now a bit more on top of cost. Item prices also vary as our stock varies from about 5p to 70p depending. J2O is quite expensive, Maoams and small Haribo are not. We have 4 main costs for general types of product.
It can get quite involved.
And what if there is a request for more selection or a different stock?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with running it at a little profit to benefit the cadets.
If I contracted it out to someone else to benefit from it, and they ended up at a 200% mark up, quarterly bonuses and a fuel expenses then yea, it’s a problem.
We are arguing semantics.
You just don’t like saying profit or monopoly because it sounds like big nasty capitalist words.
“Surplus” sounds nice and pink and fluffy. No hurt feelings and no trigger warnings needed…
I wasn’t arguing semantics - I was making the point that the cadets effectively get their money back again. Very different to a profit-making model.
Cadet Freddie buys a chocolate bar at 50p from the cadet shop.
The cadet shop buys them in at 40p. The shop makes a 10p profit.
This profit can help to restock, to buy new selections, and if there’s enough at the end of the year. Pay for a big cake for the cadets to enjoy.
Cadet Freddie likes a piece of cake with his friends at the lastnight before Christmas.
Like I said, if it’s for the benefit of the cadets. If the staff were taking said profit and putting it into the Bar at the local british legion, or a staff member comes in with a new pair of boots, then it’s a different story.
I find it interesting that I couldn’t find any guidance on SharePoint about good practice for running canteens. Given the ACO’s love of a rule, that shocked me (or I’m terrible at searching).
We try and keep ours at enough to cover the cost of purchase, plus a little extra. It’s still cheaper than the local supermarket and the little extra helps buy pizzas or other goodies for the cadets.
The thinking from HQAC would be CWCs do it, but how many CWCs have sufficient people to come down every night and run the canteen?
Profit Isn’t a dirty word.
‘Crevice’ is a dirty word…
(With a tip of the hat to Blackadder).