Call it The Big Mum. One of the world’s largest toymakers and among Rhode Island’s iconic companies, Hasbro Inc. is considering moving its headquarters somewhere near its current Pawtucket location.
But the company hasn’t specified publicly whether that means it might move out of Pawtucket or leave Rhode Island, leaving state and local officials guessing. The company employs approximately 1,600 locally.
Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien was concerned enough that he recently held a news conference to make a public plea for help from the state.
The company wouldn’t have to go far to leave the state. Massachusetts is less than a mile away from its Pawtucket location.
“Exactly – that’s what we’re concerned about,” said Larry Berman, a spokesman for House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello.
“The speaker is going to be meeting after Thanksgiving with the Senate President [Dominick J. Ruggerio] and Gov. [Gina M. Raimondo] to discuss it,” Berman said. “They’re all supportive of keeping Hasbro in Rhode Island. Obviously, Mayor Grebien wants to keep the company in Pawtucket. … [But] the company feels the Pawtucket facility is outdated.”
Hasbro Senior Vice President of Global Communications Julie Duffy in an email said the company wants a more contemporary headquarters. Options, she said, include a new campus “in the vicinity” of its current headquarters.
Hasbro also has offices in downtown Providence, but most of its products are made in East Asia.
Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor said state officials know the company is “actively considering options – plural. The governor is going to work with all parties involved to do whatever we can.”
Berman said “nothing has been decided yet” about potential incentives the state can offer. However, “Everybody is on the same page. … That’s a major company with a lot of jobs.”
While the company sorts through options, perhaps the best thing state officials can do is let Hasbro executives know the state is willing to work with the company, said Saul Kaplan, who headed the state’s economic-development efforts for former Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, who served from 2003 to 2011.
During Carcieri’s tenure, insurance company FM Global was considering moving out of Rhode Island. FM Global may have intended all along to stay in Rhode Island, Kaplan said, as companies often use the threat of moving to leverage governmental benefits. Realizing that was a possibility, Kaplan added, officials nevertheless were in “constant conversations” with FM Global about what they could do. In the end, the company moved into its current headquarters in Johnston.
Central Falls Mayor James A. Diossa said Hasbro operates a small facility in the city and he doesn’t want to see it closed.
“There have been a lot of rumors,” Diossa said. “The last thing we need is a vacant factory.”
Scott Blake is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Blake@PBN.com.
