For Pawtucket City Council member Mark J. Wildenhain, the revelation that Hasbro Inc. may pull up stakes in his city is giving him a case of déjà vu.
Wildenhain was on the council six years ago when the iconic Rhode Island toy maker acknowledged it was considering moving its headquarters to more contemporary facilities, perhaps a campus setting in nearby Massachusetts.
Those plans never came to fruition, fading from public view over the course of several months. But this time, there are crucial differences in the circumstances that are raising the likelihood that Hasbro will leave the city where it has been based for more than 60 years.
Those differences include the 2021 death from cancer of longtime CEO Brian Goldner, who had put down roots in Rhode Island, the widespread upheaval in office culture and commercial real estate caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Hasbro's shift away from legacy toy lines to digital gaming and other entertainment.
Wildenhain says he understands the market dynamics that may incentivize Hasbro to search for a new home beyond the 100-year-old, two-story brick factory building on Newport Avenue. He thinks the pandemic – when many employees were working remotely – may have only stalled the inevitable.
“They always wanted to have a campus-type atmosphere,” he said. “Now they are back at it again.”
Indeed, at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce’s annual economic luncheon on Aug. 16, just hours before news broke that Hasbro was exploring real estate options in Boston, CEO Chris Cocks indicated the global company may have outgrown its toymaking roots and would focus on its digital offerings for older consumers who he said now make up a majority of its customer base.
In an email to employees on Sept. 17, Cocks said the Pawtucket headquarters is "full of charm and history, but it is also showing its age."
"We are looking to find a space that allows for collaboration, design and showcases who we are and what we stand for," he wrote.
He added that it is early in the process and "nothing is final." A move wouldn't happen for at least 18 months.
Robert Elmer, managing principal at Boston-based commercial real estate consulting firm Lee & Associates, said it makes sense that Hasbro would look to move now, considering high vacancy rates of office buildings in the wake of COVID-19.
"We are seeing [leasing] rates in Boston and suburbs that we haven't seen in 15 years," he said. In addition, landlords are offering bigger concessions, such as paying relocation costs, to fill space.
"Places that typically were more expensive are no longer out of reach," Elmer said.
In addition, Elmer said, moving inside the Route 128 beltway around Boston could mean sizable incentives from Massachusetts leaders eager to attract high-profile technology companies, and Hasbro might gain access to a deeper talent pool.
Still, news that Hasbro executives had already toured sites in Greater Boston caught Rhode Island leaders off guard and left them scrambling to react, with the administrations of Gov. Daniel J. McKee and Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebian vowing to do everything to persuade Hasbro – which employs about 1,000 people locally as of January – to stay put.
R.I. Commerce Corp. spokesperson Matthew Touchette said Secretary Elizabeth M. Tanner had met with Hasbro executives in February, and “the company made no mention about a potential move.”
“However, we are committed to continuing our efforts to keep Hasbro headquartered in Rhode Island,” he said.
McKee and Grebien had been trying to schedule a meeting with Cocks and other Hasbro executives, but as of Thursday, Grebien’s office said
that no meeting had been set yet because Cocks is traveling.
However, McKee spokesperson Olivia DaRocha said Friday that the governor met with Cocks and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi on Thursday afternoon in what "they anticipate to be many productive meetings."
DaRocha said McKee also briefed Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio after the meeting.
"The governor, the speaker and the Senate president are prepared to continue making a strong case for Rhode Island and both the administration and the General Assembly are fully committed to pursuing all options to keep the company anchored in our state," she said.
State Rep. Leonela Felix, D-Pawtucket, said it's not only economic but social links between Pawtucket and Hasbro that could be broken with a Hasbro exit. She said Hasbro, which was founded in Providence in 1923 and moved to its present headquarters in 1962, employs or has employed many city residents.
Felix said she will make it a priority to push legislation in the upcoming General Assembly session to prevent the piecemeal battle against big companies leaving Rhode Island for Massachusetts by addressing the root causes. She said even her mother had relocated her small business to Massachusetts.
“I think we need to look closer at what Massachusetts is doing that we can mirror in terms of business supports,” she said. “To figure out how to make us more on par.”
It's not like Rhode Island leaders haven't been through this before.
In 2018, Hasbro disclosed it was considering moving its 310,000-square-foot headquarters. At the time, the company said it was considering several options, including some in Rhode Island.
There was speculation that Goldner, who lived in Rhode Island and was friendly with then-Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, didn't want the company to abandon the area. In the following months, the administration of former Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker moved in, making a push to persuade Hasbro to move over state lines.
Hasbro ended up staying put. R.I. Commerce recently confirmed that the company was not given any incentives in exchange for that decision.
Now with Cocks in charge – he was previously president and chief operating officer of Hasbro's Renton, Wash.-based Wizards of the Coast and digital gaming division – a change of location is back on the table.
For his part, Wildenhain, whose mother worked at Hasbro's Pawtucket factory, compared the current situation to the loss of the Pawtucket Red Sox: an unfortunate but survivable event.
“Eventually, we accepted it. And I imagine it would be the same with Hasbro,” he said. “They've got a long history here. We would love to see them stay and are willing to have talks to make sure that happens. But business is business.”
(Updated to add information that Gov. Daniel J. McKee and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi met with Hasbro Inc. CEO Chris Cocks on Thursday. Also add addition comments Cocks made to employees by email, including the timing over a potential move.)
