All 11 Bull Moose Stores in Maine and NH Now Owned By Employees
Bull Moose, nowhere cheaper, nowhere better is now owned by its over 140 employees.
According to a press release, Bull Moose, which has been in Maine and New Hampshire for over 30 years is doubling down on its commitment to the people who have made them a Maine staple. To be around for 30 years says a lot for an independently owned record store. They've managed to not only stay open but relevant in changing media times over those decades.
What does 'employee-owned' mean?
They have 8 Maine stores and 3 in New Hampshire and announced that Bull Moose is now employee-owned. Employee ownership, often known as an employee stock ownership plan or ESOP, is where a company’s employees own shares in the company or the right to the value of shares in the company.
What happens to the owner and founder of Bull Moose?
Founder Brett Wickard will stay on as interim CEO and chair of the board of directors during the transition. He opened Bull Moose back in 1989 in Brunswick, but it's the Old Port location that was their flagship store. If you needed ANYTHING musically, there was only one place to go, into the basement to Portland's Bull Moose.
How did Bull Moose start?
Brett Wickard opened the first Bull Moose store in Brunswick in 1989 when he was a junior at Bowdoin College. It was all started with only $37,000. Brett's partner for most of it is Chris Brown, who joined in 1991 as a clerk and later became the creator of Record Store Day, and became the Vice President.