The Market Basket drama captivated readers for weeks, but it also underscored just how competitive the grocery industry is.
Think about it. In the last 15 years, we’ve seen local grocery chains Shaw’s and Hannaford gobbled up by ever-bigger companies until mega corporations like Delhaize and AB Acquisitions LLC are the ones fighting for your grocery dollars here in Maine.
But there have been other players in that battle – relative newcomers that have caused seismic shifts in how you stock your fridge and pantry. Portland commercial broker Mark Malone presented at last year’s Maine Real Estate and Development Association’s forecasting conference about the state of Maine’s retail industry.
Here’s what his research showed: In 1993, traditional supermarkets had 86 percent of the grocery market. Twenty years later, that percentage had shrunk to 49 percent.
The Hannafords and Shaw’s didn’t just lose market share to Wal-Mart, which has about 25 percent of the grocery market, but to all those other non-traditional food retailers that opened grocery sections or food aisles (think Target, CVS, Walgreen, dollar stores) and the rise in specialty retailers (think Whole Foods).
At the nub of the Market Basket feud was one faction of the family-controlled board deciding to direct profits toward expanding the supermarket’s footprint (more stores in Maine are expected) and those directors who wanted to plow profits back into their pockets.
At least with Market Basket, expansion decisions are likely to be made by an experienced, well-known CEO in Tewksbury (my hometown), Massachusetts. Shopping at Market Basket doesn’t quite qualify as “buying local,” but it feels closer to home than Belgium (where DelHaize, Hannaford’s parent company, is based) and Boise, home to AB Acquisitions, the parent of Shaw’s. It will be interesting to see Market Basket’s next move.
SPEAKING OF MEREDA
Shelly Clark, one of the most impressive administrators in the state, got a well-deserved promotion. Formerly business manager of the Maine Real Estate and Development Association, she is now vice president of operations, a title more befitting her management of the statewide trade association.
The promotion and the creation of a part-time position should free her up to focus more on recruiting and increasing the visibility of the group. There’s already momentum. Five years ago, about 210 companies belonged to the association; now the number stands at 280. MEREDA’s annual forecasting conference draws more than 700 real estate brokers, developers, financiers and construction people, and its workshops are the go-to places for anyone in the development world to stay up to date on state and local laws. Next week, the group is offering a workshop (http://www.mereda.org/eventdetail.php?ID=532) on understanding the impact of Federal Emergency Management Administration’s changes on flood insurance rate maps. The new maps could significantly affect development.
FAMILIAR FOOTWEAR
Sen. Susan Collins has been stumping around the state, appearing in Skowhegan last week at the New Balance athletic shoe factory. Naturally she took the opportunity to highlight her work on getting American-made footwear included under the federal requirement that U.S. military uniforms and gear be domestically made. On Sept. 4, Department of Defense officials and New Balance officials are scheduled to meet to work out the fine print of an agreement that would open the door to defense contracts for domestic footwear manufacturers.
On a lighter note, “He loved them.” That’s the answer I wanted to convey to the 200 or so people who gathered in the offices of Preti Flaherty on Aug. 7 to hear the senator and representatives of the New England Council speak. At the event, Collins confided that she had ordered a customized pair of New Balance sneakers for her husband, Tom – gray-and-green running shoes emblazoned with his initials – for their second wedding anniversary. She asked no one to tell, but apparently the embargo is off – at the Skowhegan event, she enthused about how much he loved them and how others should embrace New Balance footwear.
Here’s hoping the DoD is paying attention.
Please contact Business Editor Carol Coultas with tips and story ideas at 791-6460 or at:
ccoultas@pressherald.com
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