Joel Warady

Marshall to Attempt A&P Turnaround

January 29, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
There is no doubt A&P's parent company, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea. Co., is struggling mightily. The company has announced it has found a replacement in Ron Marshall, who recently left Borders after just about a year on a turnaround job there. What challenges must The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company overcome to get the entire company turned around?      [more...]

I'm not sure that Ron Marshall is the answer for A&P. When he left Nash Finch, NF was under SEC investigation. While Marshall was never charged with anything, there was a cloud over his head. He went to Borders, where they lost market share, had a horrendous 11-week holiday sales period where sales were down over 14%, and then bolted from the company just when they were about to announce additional lay-offs.

So unless someone can show the marketplace what he has done to lead companies in his last two positions, I think that 2 years from now, we will be looking at an A&P in worse shape, with Ron Marshall walking away with another large severance package, calling himself a turn-around expert.