Vendor Turmoil Revealed in Leaked Letter to Market Basket Execs

Boston Sword & Tuna has severed their long-time relationship with Market Basket as the beleaguered grocery chain standoff enters its fifth week.

In a letter leaked to the Save Market Basket Facebook page and Boston-area media outlets, Boston Sword & Tuno CEO Tim Malley, the frustrated fish vendor reveals a number of concerning mistakes and over-promised agreements on behalf of current Market Basket management.

Boston Sword & Tuna is just one of dozens of vendors who have been affected by the standoff between employees and executives after the outsting of former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas late June.

Malley revealed that Market Basket executives have been promising a swift end to the protests, resuming regular orders and deliveries to their 71 area stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The fiasco has now entered its fifth week as sales at Market Basket have plummeted down 90% since a customer boycott began last month.

Mallet said in his letter that executives have been inconsistent in working with them regarding weekly payments to offset their losses, specifically two overpayments to Boston Sword & Tuna totaling nearly $500,000.

Malley says he was “dumbfounded” by these baffling mistakes by current management and the decision to come forward with this information was a difficult one.

He goes on to speculate why such gross incompetence might be occurring:

“In my mind there could be only two answers to these accumulating mistakes and self-destructive strategies. One was that the CEO’s were way over their heads. How many mistakes like this were being made? …The only other explanation seemed to be a deliberate attempt to sabotage the future of the company.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.

On Saturday, protesters held a “customer appreciation rally” at Market Basket headquarters in Tewksbury, Mass., the site of a number of protests by employees, customers, and other supporters over the last five weeks.

As shareholders continue to mull over Arthur T.’s bid to buy the majority shares of the company, it is unclear whether or not the beset grocery chain will ever be able to recover from this fiasco.

Stay tuned for continuing coverage as this situation develops.


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