Three years after Market Basket touted the success of its Biddeford store and hinted at further expansion into Maine, the popular New England grocery chain has yet to open a single new location in the state.
Supermarket industry analysts say a combination of changing market conditions – including an increasing number of shoppers buying groceries online – and the company’s diminished financial strength from a shareholder buyout in late 2014 have likely put Market Basket’s Maine expansion plans on hold.
“I think that over the past couple of years, the appetite for adding square footage has just diminished,” said Leon Nicholas, chief insights officer for Boston-based Kantar Research.
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