Gardiner-based Associated Grocers of Maine Inc., which supplies food and other items to independent retailers in Maine, has been placed in receivership and will close, leaving more than 100 jobless.
A Superior Court judge yesterday approved Savings Bank of Maine’s request to appoint a receiver to shut it down, according to the Kennebec Journal. The company has struggled financially for at least three years and owes more than $6 million to the bank, plus $138,000 in interest. It’s unclear when the company will close, though employees are scheduled to meet Saturday with a state rapid response team to discuss health insurance and benefits. Officials from Associated Grocers of Maine did not comment on the situation.
Founded in 1953, Associated Grocers of Maine is a retailers’ cooperative owned and managed by a group of store owners that serves 300 independent supermarkets in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. Grocers who buy from Associated Grocers receive a half-percent dividend deposited into a capital account, meant to protect vendors if a store was unable to make a payment. However, those accounts could be wiped out through the receivership, meaning stores would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the paper. Businesses will also have to find new suppliers.
