4 days ago
With Market Basket CEO's ouster, could a boycott shape up in Maine?
Jun. 5—As Market Basket's longtime CEO faces suspension over disputes with the company's board, some customers and employees are watching for a possible repeat of the stoppages, boycotts and threats of price increases that brought the company to its knees a decade ago. But it's not clear that such a clash could materialize in Maine this time around.
Arthur T. Demoulas was suspended with pay late last month for allegedly attempting to wield unilateral power in choosing his children as his successors and possibly coordinating a work stoppage among employees, the Boston Globe reported. His son and daughter, and a handful of allies on the board, were also suspended.
If that feels familiar, it is. Sort of.
The board — then led by Demoulas' cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas — fired the chief executive in the summer of 2014. But employees and shoppers rallied around the boss, whom they saw as a champion of low prices and fair working conditions, leaving shelves and checkout lines empty for more than a month. Bolstered by public support, Demoulas was reinstated as CEO weeks after his initial termination.
The previous blowup came less than one year after Market Basket opened its first Maine location in Biddeford. The store saw about a 90% drop in business during the strikes, as workers and managers encouraged their new customers to shop elsewhere, even as management threatened to replace those who refused to return to work.
But about a dozen staffers at the Biddeford and Westbrook stores said on Tuesday that they had not spoken about the turmoil at the top with their co-workers. And while some expressed support for Demoulas and recalled his previous termination, others said they had not heard about his more recent suspension before being asked about it by a reporter.
Most customers said they were similarly unaware of the leadership drama or were unsure what to make of it.
A FROM-AWAY FIGHT
When she moved to Maine in 2020, Chris Fontein swore allegiance to Hannaford, her new local grocery chain, and left the Market Basket drama behind.
"I love Market Basket, but we're Mainers now," she said, loading a cart's worth of groceries into her car at the Biddeford location. She noted that Hannaford, based in Scarborough, serves customers throughout the state and participates in Maine's bottle redemption program.
Fontein, who lived in Massachusetts at the time, avoided shopping at Market Basket "when there was the battle going on," but she argued that Mainers have bigger, more direct issues to focus on than a corporate power struggle two states away.
"Of all the battles you can pick, this is not one of them," Fontein said.
A few parking spots away, Maine native Mark Lindquist said he had not heard about the latest clash, though recalled the walkouts a decade ago. The 66-year-old lives in Sullivan, near Bar Harbor, but he occasionally loads up on Market Basket groceries when visiting southern Maine.
Lindquist said the grocer's low prices attract him, as they do many Mainers, but he was not sure the company had developed deep enough roots to inspire the kind of loyalty shoppers demonstrated a decade ago in Massachusetts.
"I think that if they opened one or two more stores in the state of Maine, they would take the lion's share of the retail business," he said. "But they just don't have enough outlets."
Market Basket currently operates three stores in Maine, with other locations in Westbrook and Topsham, and plans to open a fourth at Scarborough Downs. The company did not return phone calls or written requests for an interview submitted through email and its online contact form.
NEW CIRCUMSTANCES
Beyond the grocer's from-away status in Maine, a repeat of 2014 is unlikely for several reasons, said Grant Welker, a reporter at the Boston Business Journal and author of "We Are Market Basket: The Story of the Unlikely Grassroots Movement That Saved a Beloved Business."
A decade ago, with Arthur T. squaring off against his cousin Arthur S., the sides were clearly drawn, Welker said. But the latest clash lacks a clear foil for Arthur T. Demoulas, he said.
"That boogeyman, if that's the right way to put it, is not there in that same way," he said. "The other thing is that the economy is shakier. So if you're an employee, and you're walking off the job, maybe you're not so sure now that you're going to get another job as you would have back in 2014."
The latest clash, which hinges on the board's claims that Demoulas had failed to coordinate with the other leaders, has also yet to include any clear threats of raising prices that could rouse customers, Welker said. Plus, inflation and overall price hikes may leave shoppers less willing to skip out on deals "out of principle," he said.
"They may decide that they literally can't afford to take that stance," Welker said.
Westbrook resident Rose Dang was on the fence about whether Mainers would feel compelled to boycott if tensions reached such a point.
Dang, 33, said the grocer offers lower prices and seems to carry a more diverse selection than some competitors, which customers like herself appreciate. But she was not sure whether people would be moved to defend the current business model or simply accept changes as unavoidable.
"If prices have to go up, they go up," she said outside the Westbrook location. "I mean, they've already started (to rise)."
David Sullivan, who grew up on the South Shore of Massachusetts and moved to Maine about 25 years ago, said his neighbors in Falmouth quickly took to Market Basket when it opened at Rock Row in 2020.
"Market Basket became sort of a very quick fan favorite here," Sullivan said. "In terms of loyalty in the same way, I don't know."
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