Maine business icon Robert H. Reny, 83, passed away July 24 at his home in Damariscotta following a long illness.
Services are scheduled for 10 a.m. July 30, at St. Patrick’s Church in Newcastle. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to the St. Patrick’s Permanent Lay Trust, P.O.33, Damariscotta, 04543.
Although he was extremely active in state and local business and community affairs, Reny is best known for the retail stores that bear his name. Reny started with very little and built an independent family business that has itself become a Maine touchstone.
Since Reny opened the doors of the first Renys on Damariscotta’s Main St. Oct. 6, 1949, he cultivated the business into a 14 store multi million dollar business that employs more than 400 people.
“Bob was the heart and soul of Maine retailing. He started on a shoestring and knew what it took to sell products. He was a very good salesman,” said Jim McGregor, the director of governmental affairs for the Maine Merchants Association.
Although he will forever be associated with Damariscotta, Reny was born and raised in Biddeford. He served in the U.S. Navy after graduating from Biddeford High School and finished a four-year degree program at Dartmouth in two years.
He began his sales career at a department store in Boston, moving later to Damariscotta. In the early days, when business was down and he needed to make ends meet, Reny took his goods door to door, doing business out of the back of a Hudson.
Over the years Reny expanded his business to include 14 stores in all. Under his guidance, the stores specialized in offering inexpensive goods and a personal touch. In a retail era when competitors were expanding and moving out of downtowns, Reny was content to consolidate his Maine holdings and he specialized in moving into downtowns.
Today his stores help anchor the towns they are located in.
In a Feb. 2003 interview, Reny’s son and company vice president John Reny told LCN that the business has stayed true to the model established by his father: treat the customer well and support the community that supports you.
“I think all of us are familiar with the direction of the company because we have been guided from day one by the example of my father,” John Reny said. “He always believed in responsible growth, in making sure the customer was happy and having A1 credit. These are all your customers. It’s giving it back.”
The chairman of Damariscotta’s Board of Selectmen, Dick McLean, said the business and the man provided an immeasurable contribution to the local community. “You can’t have lived here and not have known him,” McLean said. “You come across people who are important in their community and that was certainly Bob.”
Tributes from state and national leaders flowed into the Reny home almost immediately after his death.
“The governor called about an hour after he died. He was very kind,” John Reny said.
“He had an incredible work ethic and treated everyone with great respect. When I was in the Legislature, he always had a ready smile and an easy laugh, even when we disagreed,” said Gov. John Baldacci.
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and her husband, former Gov. John McKernan called Reny “a dear friend.”
“His sense of humor and compassionate nature were as legendary as his commitment to our state,” Snowe said.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) echoed her colleague. “He approached business with a competitive and tenacious spirit and with great wit.”
“He was a true Yankee Republican, one of a kind,” said Rep. John Martin (D-Eagle Lake) a long time legislature who, as a Democrat and former House Speaker, often found himself on opposite sides of an issue with Reny.
“Bob would always come in my office and we would trade barbs. He would call me a Liberal Democrat and laugh,” said Martin. “‘Tell me what foolish ideas (have) you guys come up with today,’ he would say.”
After about 15 minutes of back and forth bantering, Martin said they got down to business.
“He would tell me what he wanted and present his reasons for what he wanted,” Martin said. “Then he would walk out and say: ‘I know you will do what you think is best for the state, but thanks for listening to me.'”
For McGregor and the Maine Merchants Association, Reny was a key ally who was always willing to pitch in when they had a governmental issue they were for, or against.
“A lot of the retailers get angry and upset with government, but they won’t sacrifice their time to go and plead their case to the governor and the legislative committees,” McGregor said. “They are reluctant to take time off to go to the legislature. Bob understood it was important work and he got along with both sides of the aisle.”
In business, as well as politics, Reny was a salesman, worked with a smile, and looked for opportunity, said his son, John.
“He always said that adversity is an opportunity in disguise,” John Reny said.
The biggest threat to Reny’s relatively small business came when the retail community learned that big box retail stores, like Wal-Mart were planning to move to Maine.
“He loved a challenge, so we went out and looked at their stores in other states,” John Reny said. “Holy Smoke, we learned they were just big stores that were doing what we were doing. We knew they were coming, so we sharpened up. We worked harder and did a lot better.”
McGregor put it this way. “When Wal-Mart and the other big box stores started to come into Maine, (Bob Reny) took them on head on. He was not cowed, not intimidated, and just out worked them. He tried to do them one better and that is what retail is all about.”
“He knew how to get people into his store. He was a great merchandiser and always knew the bottom line,” said Martin.
This summer, when merchants complained about bad weather, would have been just an opportunity for Bob Reny, said McGregor.
“We have had a lot of rain, and he once told me he looked for rain in the summer. When it rains, the only thing tourists can do is shop,” McGregor said.
