Mainebiz

V O L . X X I X N O. X I M AY 1 5 , 2 0 2 3 6 Home-goods retailer expected to liquidate Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for bank- ruptcy, bringing the longtime home- goods chain to an apparent end. e closures aren't expected to be immedi- ate, but are expected once inventory is sold off. e Union, N.J.-based retail chain has 360 Bed Bath & Beyond locations, along with its 120 buybuy BABY stores. On April 26, the stores started their "everything must go" sales as the stores began their "wind-down" operations. If a buyer doesn't come for- ward, Bed Bath & Beyond will likely be liquidated. Maine has three Bed Bath & Beyond stores: at 42 Whitten Rd. in Augusta, 490 Stillwater Ave. in Bangor and 200 Running Hill Rd. in South Portland. A Brunswick store closed earlier this year. KeyBank to close four branches KeyBank, which ranks No. 4 among banks by Maine market share, said it will close four Maine branches on June 2. Branch offices in Freeport, Bath, Rumford and Skowhegan branches are earmarked for clo- sure, the Cleveland-based bank said. Clients of these branches were noti- fied in February. e bank did not provide specifics on why the branches were closed, but cited changes in customer behavior and strength in the marketplace. Mask mandates dropped at three hospital groups Two major Maine hospital groups and a provider group have dropped mask requirements, three years after the start of the COVID pan- demic. Northern Light Health and MaineHealth announced they were ending their universal masking policy and, within days, InterMed, Maine's largest physician-owned and physician-led medical group, lifted its mandate, effective May 1. Masks will still be required under certain circumstances. Historic tax credit proposed A proposed bill now before the state legislature is designed to make improve- ments to the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program and provide new benefits to owners of historic homes. e bill would raise the qualified reha- bilitation expenditure cap from $250,000 to $1 million. It would also create a 25% B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E B R I E F Hussey Seating CEO Gary Merrill to step down July 1 B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n H ussey Seating Co. said that CEO Gary Merrill plans to retire this summer. Merrill, who was the first non-family member to lead the family-owned company, has been CEO since 2016. He will be succeeded by President and CFO Brian Deveaux, effective July 1. The transition started in July 2022, when Deveaux took over the president role from Merrill, who remained CEO. Merrill will stay on as an advisor through the end of 2023. "Brian has been an integral part of the Hussey Seating team since he joined the company in 2017," said Merrill. "I have tremendous respect for him and the Hussey leader- ship team, and I am confident they will continue to honor the legacy of the Hussey family while continuing to grow and steward the company for future generations." The North Berwick-based company, which has 300 employ- ees, manufactures stadium and arena seating. Its jobs have included fan seating at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena (home of the NHL's Predators) and Nissan Stadium (home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans and on a recent weekend three Taylor Swift concerts), the luxury seating at the MGM Theater in Las Vegas, but also the telescopic bleachers in high schools across the country. Before joining Hussey Seating as CFO, Deveaux was a partner and co-founder of Leaders LLC, a Portland consulting firm that specialized in advising family businesses in strate- gic transactions. He has also served as COO for Seabrook International and held several management positions in operations at Bath Iron Works. "I want to express our gratitude to Gary for his outstand- ing leadership and service to the company. We are grateful that Gary will remain involved with the company as an advi- sor through the end of the year, ensuring a smooth transi- tion to Brian Deveaux as our next CEO," said Letitia Hussey Beauregard, who is chair of the board and a sixth-generation family shareholder. "Brian has been a valuable member of our leadership team since he joined the company in 2017, and we have full confidence in his ability to build on Gary's successes and lead the company into the future." Under Merrill's leadership, Hussey Seating had four of its best five sales years in the company's 188-year history. Deveaux will be just the second non-family member to lead the company. "I am truly honored and humbled to be assuming the mantle of leadership at this incredible Maine company," said Deveaux. "We are set up for a bright future, thanks in large part to Gary's leadership through some challenging times. I look forward to building upon his successes, and to nurturing the legacy that the Hussey family has carried for 188 years." F I L E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Hussey Seating Co. CEO Gary Merrill. I have tremendous respect for [Brian Deveaux] and the Hussey leadership team, and I am confident they will continue to honor the legacy of the Hussey family while continuing to grow and steward the company for future generations. — Gary Merrill Hussey Seating Co.

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