Market Basket’s Future Uncertain as Family Feud Escalates

The drama roiling in Market Basket’s leadership hasn’t cooled with the summer heat—instead, it’s spilling closer than ever to the customer aisle.

Members of the Demoulas family, whose predecessors founded the popular value grocery chain in 1917, have been engaged in a power struggle for leadership of the business for years. Tensions first came to a head in 2014 when cousins Arthur S. and Arthur T. ("Artie T.") Demoulas battled publicly for control of the company following an attempt by Arthur S. to remove Artie T. as CEO.

Workers and customers banded together in support of Artie T., and ultimately he and his sisters bought out their cousin. Artie T. was restored as CEO, and operations returned to normal. This year, Artie T. and his sisters paid off the debt incurred with the buyout, and this year the chain ranked #2 in dunnhumby's 8th annual Retailer Preference Index.

Then in May, Artie T. was placed on leave by the Board, along with his daughter, son, "and several other Market Basket executives," according to a statement from his spokesperson, Justine Griffin. Information from Artie T.'s representatives suggests a planned takeover, which started in 2019 and continued through 2025 – first with the appointment of several Board members over Artie T.'s protests (Steven Collins, who runs a private equity firm, in 2019; Jay Hachigian, an attorney specializing in venture capital transactions, in 2021; and Michael Keyes, a real estate developer, in 2023.)

The three Demoulas sisters, Frances Kettenbach, Glorianne Demoulas Farnham, and Caren Demoulas Pasquale, who together own 60% of the company, this year removed members Terry Carleton (in January) and Bill Shea (in August), each of whom had decades of service to the business and, according to a statement from Artie T., a deep commitment to and understanding of the operations of the business. And, in July, long-standing executives Joe Schmidt and Tom Gordon were fired.

In a statement on July 22, Arthur T. Demoulas said, "This is among the worst decisions that could be made by this board.  Steven Collins of Exeter Capital doesn’t understand this company’s culture. Nor do his fellow board members Jay Hachigian of Gunderson Dettmer and Michael Keyes of Intercontinental Real Estate. To them, Tom, after 50 years with the company, and Joe after 39 years, are easily cast aside. They are just collateral damage in this pre-planned coup.  To Market Basket, Tom and Joe are part of the heart and soul of the company and key executives in its immense success to date." 

Later that month, Artie T., through his spokesperson Justine Griffin, announced the parties would participate in mediation in September "in hopes of avoiding litigation and reaching a quicker and amicable resolution that is in the best interest of Market Basket's associates, customers and the communities it serves." Griffin added, however, that firing Gordon and Schmidt after mediation talks began and prior to the actual mediation was "a clear attempt to get out ahead of the mediation process in an effort to further silence the associates within the company who are demanding the return of the senior management team."

Following his removal from the Board, Shea released a statement which reads, in part, "It should be patently obvious that Jay Hachigian, Steven Collins, and Michael Keyes are not operating as independent board members.  They have thrown the company into turmoil in a very public way.  The disruption is entirely down to them.  They are here executing on a plan."

He has requested from the Board information on the basis for the removal of Mr. Demoulas, his family members and top executives and, according to his representatives, has not received it.

Board member Michael Keyes said in a statement, "We believe that her letter is part of Arthur Demoulas's ruthless, no-holds-barred attack on Market Basket, the board, and even the majority stockholders," the statement said. "The board and majority stockholders are committed to maintaining Market Basket with the same culture, low prices, and convenience for its cherished shoppers and hard-working associates no matter how low Mr. Demoulas stoops in his effort to regain his job."

With mediation on the horizon and another boycott never far from the realm of possibility, the high-stakes family feud could once again put the grocery chain’s hard-won stability to the test.