Although it’s taken a while, kudos to all involved with Market Basket for resolving the crisis. The chair of a consulting firm which specializes in family business dynamics, Jeffrey Davis, summed up the saga best, in a recent Lowell Sun article: “[Family business] decisions are never just business-driven, as there’s too much history, emotion and jealousy.”
It sounds like Market Basket is on its way. At this juncture, I can only think of 3 possible impediments to its future success:
- Pricing and Branding: Now that they’ve taken on debt, can they continue to keep prices low? If they have to push through modest increases, will it affect the Market Basket brand? Steven Syre believes they’ll be fine, according to his recent Globe article.
- Non-family dynamics: Despite the protracted family feud, how will Arthur T. deal with true outsiders? Is Blackstone investing in the Market Basket culture or treating this solely as a financial play? Can Market Basket have any veto power if Blackstone re-sells its stake? What will happen if interest rates rise? Good discussion by Forbes in this piece.
- Terms and Conditions for vendors & employees: Hopefully neither furloughed employees nor recently terminated vendors will take advantage of their separation, and attempt to force through stiffer contract terms; this will only further prolong Market Basket’s return to normalcy. So far, the trucks are rolling, according to the Boston Herald.
We wish them well, and nice to see the photo on their web site (printed above) showing cars in front of the store!
