DeMoulas/Market Basket
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Market Basket | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Grocery |
| Founded | 1917 Lowell, Massachusetts |
| Headquarters | Tewksbury, Massachusetts |
| Key people | Arthur T. Demoulas], president industry = Retail |
| Products | Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, grocery, meat, health & beauty care, produce, seafood, snacks, beer & wine (NH stores only) |
| Revenue | $2.5 billion USD (2007) |
| Website | http://supportmarketbasket.org/ |
DeMoulas/Market Basket, more commonly known as Market Basket, is a chain of 59 supermarkets in eastern New England. It has stores from central New Hampshire to Bristol County, Massachusetts with headquarters in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Supermarket News ranked DeMoulas/Market Basket No. 45 in the 2008 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2007 fiscal year estimated sales of $2.5 billion.[1]
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[edit] Early history
In 1917, Greek immigrants Athanasios ("Arthur") and Efrosini Demoulas opened a grocery store in Lowell, Massachusetts, specializing in fresh lamb. In 1954, they sold their store to two of their six children, Telemachus ("Mike") and George Demoulas. Within 15 years, they had transformed their parents "mom and pop"-style store into a more modern supermarket chain consisting of 15 stores. DeMoulas became a virtual category killer in the Merrimack Valley area, often leading other supermarkets in the area to close.[citation needed]
George Demoulas died of a gun shot in 1971 while vacationing in Greece, making Mike the sole head of the DeMoulas supermarket chain. Although Mike had promised to provide for the family of George in the event of his death, a lawsuit filed in 1990 by the heirs of George Demoulas claimed that Mike had defrauded them out of all but 8% of company stock by moving assets into shell companies, such as 'Market Basket Inc.' and 'Seabrook Sales Inc.' and claiming that these were separate companies from DeMoulas itself. The ensuing legal cases threatened to require the sale of the chain, most likely to Royal Ahold's Stop & Shop. In 1994, Judge Maria Lopez ruled that Mike Demoulas had defrauded George's family out of nearly $500 million, transferring 51% of Demoulas' stock to George's family.[2]
[edit] Market Basket today
Today Market Basket operates in a grocery marketplace that includes SuperValu's Shaw's and Star Market stores, Whole Foods Markets, Trader Joe's, Delhaize's Hannaford, Royal Ahold's Stop & Shop, a number of smaller, local markets (for example, Butcher Boy), and to some extent, FoodMaster (formerly, Johnnie's FoodMaster), and Super 88. Though the chain is often colloquially referred to as "DeMoulas," all of its 59 stores, except one in Salem, New Hampshire, now operate under the Market Basket name. Market Basket supermarkets are usually located in shopping centers with other stores, often properties owned by the company through its real estate arm, Retail Management and Development, Inc. Market Basket is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Mike Demoulas died in 2003 at age 82 and is buried in Andover, Mass. George's son Arthur S. Demoulas, a member of the board of directors, was rated Boston's 8th wealthiest person in March of 2006[1] according to the Boston Globe, with assets of $1.6 billion. Arthur T. Demoulas was elected by the board of directors in early 2008 as president of the corporation.
[edit] References
- ^ 2008 Top 75 North American Food Retailers, Supermarket News, Last accessed January 27, 2008.
- ^ DeMoulas/Market Basket Inc. Company History DeMoulas/Market Basket Company History
