The Market Basket saga: This time, the family feud is over succession. Will employees and shoppers care?

Boston Globe

4 days ago

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Will this be another summer of protest for Market Basket employees and customers?
Don't count on it, says Tom Kochan, the MIT Sloan School of Management professor who wrote a
Here are the CliffsNotes: Demoulas (
Now Good Arthur is once again on the outs
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'It would be hard to envision a mass protest because this does come across as a
Not only that, but pandemic-era inflation has driven up grocery prices and squeezed household budgets. Switching from the bargains at Market Basket to a pricier chain like Stop & Shop might be a tough sell these days.
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The
and daughter, Madeline, who both work at Market Basket, while it investigates whether Demoulas is orchestrating a work stoppage to retaliate against the board.
'The issues of succession are not a matter of one family or another, but about responsible stewardship of a large successful company so that it's around and remains the same great company for the next 100 years,' Jay Hachigian, chair of the Market Basket board, said in a statement. 'Despite repeated requests over an extended period of time, the 70-year-old CEO has not allowed the Board to discuss succession planning or to even meet the children he wants to put in charge.'
Demoulas's sisters — Frances, Glorianne, and Caren — have sway since together they own about 60 percent of the company, while he controls just 28 percent. The sisters also have children who work at the company.
It's easy to see why succession is important: The chain,
Justine Griffin, a spokesperson for Arthur T. Demoulas, said he has not only discussed succession with the board 'on many occasions,' but has also recommended that his son and daughter succeed him.
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'The bottom line is — it is not that he has not offered a succession plan,' Griffin said. 'It is that other shareholders do not like it."
So how will the latest Demoulas drama end?
Kochan of MIT expects the warring factions to end up in court, which has become a
'We need fewer lawyers here,' he added.
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