The Market Basket Story

We are Market Basket, The Story of the Unlikely Grassroots Movement That Saved A Beloved Business, by Daniel Korschun and Grant Welker, AMACOM 2015

By the time the shelves emptied the local talk shows were filled with speculation on whether Market Basket stores would be dumped for their real estate value, whether Arthur T, the fired CEO,  would somehow get reinstated, or whether the chain would go bankrupt and be sold in chunks to a foreign conglomerate.  Within weeks of his termination, customers who had grown accustomed to Market Basket's extremely competitive prices, sometimes 20% below other chains', reluctantly started a search for alternatives.  The problem was, none of the other grocery chains offered the same mix of low prices, big variety, prepared foods, the freshest fish,  convenient locations and fast checkout that Market Basket's leadership had managed to build over nearly 100 years of transformational history.  

It was, as authors Korschun and Welker tell the story in We Are Market Basket, The Story of the Unlikely Grassroots Movement That Saved A Beloved Business, a very emotional time.  Not exactly a strike - the company was non-union - but more like a work stoppage or walkout with huge and immediate impact, customers were first met with a strange mix of parking lot protesters and relocated or part time employees manning the one or two registers that remained open.  Canned goods and paper supplies lasted longest, and those customers who braved picket lines took advantage of emptying shelves to load up on necessities.  

Hard to imagine that after six years of double-digit growth CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was gone.  The back story is filled with turmoil and a protracted suit that further divided this big Greek family. 

But what appeared to be a long-standing family feud and job losses had significant economic impact for three New England states - Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, because the 71 Market Basket stores generated $4.5B,  and supported 25,000 employees, as well as a modern warehousing/logistics system that became the keystone of the giant stores' success.  

We wanted to think Market Basket was too big to fail.

By June of 2014, when seven Market Basket managers quit in protest of Arthur T.'s termination, the word was spreading fast and the most amazing grassroots movement to save the company was swelling to very audible levels throughout the region.  It was a stand-off between the board and its two new co-CEOs, public opinion, the impact of Massachusetts' then-governor Deval Patrick, and increasingly disgruntled but still loyal Market Basket customers.  When 400 warehouse workers and drivers walked out, the company future was at a standstill.  Determined not to be bullied, more employees joined the picket lines and by the end of August, shareholders flipped the switch and opted to sell their remaining shares to ex-CEO Arthur T.  Back in control, he bought the shares and resumed management of the company his grandfather Telemachus had founded nearly 100 years ago.  

Could this type of job action driven by unique family and corporate structures repeat itself?  Is the Market Basket story an indicator of the power of employees against law suits and traditional business imperatives? Could it happen again?  

And what inspired thousands of employees, vendors, and customers to rally together to reinstate the ousted CEO of a supermarket chain?