Stu Loeser Is PR Rep for Anti-Union Best Market in Hamptons

Stu Loeser & Co., ranked No. 15 on the 2014 “Power PR Firm” list of the New York Observer, is handling PR for Best Market, non-union chain that is buying Waldbaum’s of Westhampton. Employees are asking residents not to patronize the store if it remains non-union.

Loeser

Stu Loeser, who was press secretary for Mayor Michael Bloomberg for nearly seven years, is known for his “bare-knuckles approach, political instincts and deep connections,” said the Observer.

The firm’s website says he has been profiled as the “city’s foremost practitioner of the dark art known as opposition research.” He has been featured in two of the Observer’s “PR Battles of the Year.” A New York Times profile July 12, 2012 called him “a wisecracking strategist straight out of a 1940s film comedy.”

Revenues are estimated at $2 million as the firm jumped from No. 27 on the Observer “Power” list to No. 15. A client list is not published.

The Observer ranks PR firms based on their perceived power in city affairs and with the media and their ability to reach client goals. The 129 firms in the O’Dwyer rankings supply a copy of the top page of their corporate income tax return and an account list.

Best Market Privately Held

Best Market, a privately-held, non-unionized chain of supermarkets in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, is purchasing Waldbaum’s/WHB for $4 million, according to bankruptcy papers. It is owned by brothers Aviv and Eran Raitses.

Local 342 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union obtained 3,093 signatures of Waldbaum’s customers saying they would not patronize Best Yet if the store remained non-unionized. Best Yet has said it will take 25% of the 80 employees of the store until it opens next spring.

The Southampton Press reported Oct. 22 that Best Market reps confirmed that they had made the winning bid but “declined to offer any additional information.” Company h.q. are in Bethpage. A receptionist, asked by this website if there were any corporate media people on staff, referred the call to the Loeser PR firm where a request has been made for further information. There has been no response as of press time.

Local 342 submitted a petition containing the 3,093 signatures to bankruptcy court Judge Robert Drain asking him to consider awarding purchase of the supermarket to Kings Food Market, which has a union.

Abusive Practices Mar Supermarkets

The changing ownership of the WHB supermarket puts the spotlight on supermarket practices which are under fire on several points.

Such markets once brought customers the best possible products at the lowest possible prices. The A&P and National chains were the leading practitioners of that.

A new generation of supermarkets brought product proliferation to the shelves, vastly expanding the number of products in any given category.

Supermarkets currently are making more money selling their shelf space to the highest bidder rather than from sales of the products themselves, according to supermarket analysts. This cost is embedded in the price of the product. Best Yet has said it will expand the WH store into the vacant property next to it, thus providing more shelf space.

Suppliers, including many of America’s most famous brands, pay to get their new products on shelves, keep current products there, put products at eye-level, put them next to other famous brands, limit the shelf space of rivals, and obtain end-of-aisle displays (very expensive) among other tactics. Slotting fees raise the cost of the products.

Acosta, Jacksonville, Fla., a private company with $1.5 billion in sales and 30,000 employees and part-time associates, is one of the leaders in negotiating with stores. Its PR head is Kathy Barbour, chair of press-boycotting PR Society of America. Acosta reps are in stores daily making sure client products have the best positions, says its website.

Motley Fool, referring to a Federal Trade Commission study of slotting fees published in 2003, said Aug. 13, 2013 that a nationwide rollout of a new product could cost as much as $2.5 million in slotting fees. Reporter Brian Stoffel said the FTC estimated that 80-90% of food companies surveyed paid slotting fees but that tracking them is hard because the activity “usually takes place off the books.” The article was titled, “The Hidden Profit Machine for Grocery Stores.”

Local Stores Ready to Replace Waldbaum's

The closing of Waldbaum’s Nov. 23 will end one-stop shopping for WHB residents. The nearest supermarket is King Kullen in Eastport, an 11-mile roundtrip.

However, by visiting several local stores they can get most of what the supermarket had offered in one place.

Rite Aid pharmacy has a large variety of grocery and food items including cereals, beverages, canned goods, paper goods and frozen foods.

Justin’s Chop Shop has a complete line of meats. Cor-J fish market, located next to Justin’s, handles fish products. Other local stores specialize in fresh fruits and vegetables and beverages.

Residents of WHB could develop new shopping habits in the six months that the Waldbaum’s market is closing and by then there will be no need for a new supermarket.

What is needed is a supermarket that will offer the best few products at the best prices.