The Market Basket Rebellion

[sms001]

An update.

lol. Popped in to do this as well. Here's Forbes' take on it.

[AdamAnt316]

Our long, regional nightmare is over!

It's been a crazy month-plus around here. I typically get my boss's groceries from a competing supermarket chain; before the debacle, the store and parking lot were damn near empty most of the time, but once the boycott started, both were suddenly more packed than I'd ever seen them during non-holiday periods. Hopefully, now it'll go back to being the way it was before, so it won't take as long to park.

[MoonCat]

This is the principle behind collective action: An individual has little power. A large group of people acting together can accomplish something. I hope Mr. Demoulas truly appreciates the people whose actions helped get his job back, and helped give him control of the company.

Lowell, Mass., has a history of people standing up to power. Textile mill workers there created the first women's union in the 1800's. What's cool about the Market Basket thing is that the community supported the workers. That doesn't always happen.

[Jetfire]

Personally, I think it shows there is an element to business that is hard to show on any balance sheet or power point, but which can be essential in making it stand out in the communities.

Businesses that can foster a lot of community good will (which is more than just donating to the local ball league) will have that returned to them in tough times. They are seen as part of the local tribe so to speak, and will have earned that protection, even if the company is bigger than the local region. (And while Market Basket is small, it is still large enough that it's rare for a company that big to keep a hole of it's local protection).

Countless times here on CS we see examples of the opposite; examples of companies that have lost that local protection and are fumbling to try and tap into it ineffectively. That leads to the One Size Fits All policies, as well as the Squeeky Wheel policies that seem to reward Sucky Customer behavior and punish the polite customers.

All in all, it's great to see the opposite for a change, and I hope for all the best for Market Basket in the future. And I hope that when the time comes for Mr Demoulas to eventually pass the company on, his replacements will keep the lessons of this incident in mind.