Skip navigation

HARRY'S TO PAY PROGRESSIVE $4 MILLION

ROSWELL, Ga. -- Harry's Farmers Market here said last week it has agreed to pay $4 million in cash to terminate its relationship with Progressive Food Concepts, a subsidiary of Boston Chicken.and chief financial officer, told SN Progressive's bankruptcy filing resulted in a default on its deal with Harry's when it failed to pay a $2 million fee to the retailer, prompting Harry's to terminate the deal

ROSWELL, Ga. -- Harry's Farmers Market here said last week it has agreed to pay $4 million in cash to terminate its relationship with Progressive Food Concepts, a subsidiary of Boston Chicken.

and chief financial officer, told SN Progressive's bankruptcy filing resulted in a default on its deal with Harry's when it failed to pay a $2 million fee to the retailer, prompting Harry's to terminate the deal "in the best interests of both companies."

Under the proposed settlement, Harry's said it would pay the $4 million in exchange for satisfying all debts owed to Progressive, including $15.5 million of convertible debt; terminating all consulting obligations between the parties; terminating warrants to purchase 2 million shares of Harry's common stock, and the surrender by Progressive of its rights to use Harry's intellectual property, including its expertise in operating fresh stores.

The company said the settlement is subject to Harry's ability to obtain adequate financing and, if necessary, the consent of its senior lender.

Harry's operates three Harry's Farmers Market megastores and five home-meal replacement-oriented units called Harry's in a Hurry, plus a prepared-foods manufacturing facility and in-store bakeries in metropolitan Atlanta. Sales for the year ended Feb. 3 were $136.1 million.

Harry's originally signed a trademark agreement with Progressive in 1997 under which the Boston Chicken subsidiary gained the right to refine the Harry's in a Hurry concept, as well as use the Harry's Farmers Market banner, as part of a proposed national rollout in all states except Georgia and Alabama, which was later amended to exclude Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina as well. The agreement also entitled Progressive to distribute a line of branded take-home meal items.

Harry Blazer, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harry's, said at the time, "These [Boston Chicken] guys know what it takes to roll something out successfully. We know how to do prepared food in a quality way. Together we're going to have a lot of fun exploring what the opportunities are for improving things."

A Boston Chicken spokeswoman said at the time her company planned to look at branded take-home meals, "like what Harry's is really good at, and see if supermarkets are a venue for them."