00:00Today on Forbes, supermarket billionaire threatens to cut workforce and move to Florida after Mamdani's win.
00:08In June, New York City supermarket billionaire John Katsimatidis voiced strong opposition after Zoran Mamdani secured the Democratic primary win for mayor.
00:18Katsimatidis had opposed Mamdani's proposal to establish an affordable, city-run grocery store in all five boroughs.
00:25In response to escalating food prices, Mamdani has proposed a plan for city-sponsored stores.
00:32These stores would operate with a non-profit model, featuring wholesale grocery prices achieved through partnerships with farmers and small businesses.
00:41Crucially, they would be exempt from paying rent or taxes.
00:45The billionaire threatened to shut down his 30-plus stores if the Democratic Socialists won the election.
00:50Katsimatidis held a press conference with bodega owners and publicly ranted on TV.
00:55He compared Mamdani to Fidel Castro, telling Fox News, quote,
00:59He is not qualified. This is silly. It's one big con game.
01:04The supermarket businessman called on President Trump, who publicly backed his friends, saying, quote,
01:09Mamdani actually wants to take over the grocery stores of John Katsimatidis, who's a great guy, a rich guy.
01:16He actually called me the other day. He's concerned his stores are going to be taken from him, and they won't be run like John runs them.
01:23Believe me, he runs a good operation.
01:26Forbes estimates Katsimatidis' net worth to be $4.8 billion.
01:30Katsimatidis asserts that the lack of profit margins is a major struggle, noting his stores have been losing money for, quote,
01:38at least two years.
01:40He attributes this decline to the city's overall condition, claiming that record-high shoplifting and store closures have made shopping difficult
01:47and subsequently driven down sales.
01:50Katsimatidis, who employs a few thousand people, hasn't decided how his business will respond if city-run stores undercut its prices,
01:57but says he's, quote, sure he will need to reduce its workforce.
02:02He says, quote, can you imagine a tax-free supermarket that pays no commercial rent tax, no sales tax?
02:09I mean, how do you compete against that? You can't fight city hall.
02:13Katsimatidis ran for mayor in the 2013 Republican primary, but lost the nomination.
02:19He says, quote, the way things are right now, we pay taxes on our taxes.
02:24I mean, it's out of control.
02:25No wonder people are yelling and screaming that prices of food are too high.
02:30Now that Mamdani has been elected, Katsimatidis is once again agitating, telling Forbes, quote,
02:36I think a lot of business people are reducing their exposure to New York City.
02:41Katsimatidis, with his $7.8 billion Red Apple Group, has considered moving the conglomerate's headquarters to New Jersey if Mamdani were elected mayor.
02:50Red Apple Group's holdings include a Pennsylvania oil refinery, roughly 400 convenience stores, and a real estate portfolio spanning New York and Florida.
03:00He changed his mind after Tuesday's most recent election, saying, quote, New Jersey didn't go the right way.
03:06He was referring to the state resoundingly electing Mikey Sherrill as governor.
03:10Now he's looking for, quote, friendly states to relocate operations, with Florida being the most likely candidate.
03:18Katsimatidis explains, quote, the key word is a common sense place to do business in.
03:24While he threatens to relocate, Katsimatidis still has a soft spot for the Big Apple.
03:29He says, quote, I just hope he keeps the quality of life going in the city and does not cut the New York Police Department down.
03:35For full coverage, check out Martina DiLacosa's piece on Forbes.com.
03:41This is John Palmer from Forbes.
03:42Thanks for tuning in.
