Jump to content

Wegmans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Xzmattzx (talk | contribs) at 06:31, 5 December 2022. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.
FormerlyRochester Fruit and Vegetable Company (1916–1930)
Company type
IndustryRetail (Grocery)
Founded1916; 108 years ago (1916) in Rochester, New York, U.S.
Founder
  • John Wegman
  • Walter Wegman
Headquarters
Gates, New York
,
U.S.
Number of locations
109[1]
Area served
Key people
  • Colleen J. Wegman (president and CEO)
  • Nicole Wegman (Sr. Vice President)
  • Danny Wegman (chairman)
ProductsBakery, delicatessen, dairy, grocery, frozen foods, organic foods, bulk foods, meat, produce, seafood, wine, beer, spirits, floral products, pet supplies, general merchandise, prepared foods, coffee [2]
ServicesPharmacy, Catering, Coffee Shop, Restaurants
RevenueIncrease $11.2 billion (2020)[3]
OwnerWegman Enterprises, Inc (Wegman family (100%))
Number of employees
52,000
Websitewegmans.com

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a privately held American supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Gates, New York, and was founded in 1916 in Rochester.

As of 2024, Wegmans has 109 stores, mostly in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions.[1] The company has stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware and Washington, D.C. along with a planned expansion into Connecticut.[4]

Wegmans has appeared on Fortune's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list since the list first appeared in 1998.[5] In 2020, the company was ranked at number three on that list, based on an employee survey of satisfaction.[6]

History

Wegmans is a privately owned company, founded in 1916 by brothers John and Walter Wegman as the Rochester Fruit and Vegetable Company.[7] Wegmans is headquartered in the Rochester suburb of Gates. Danny Wegman is the chairman. His daughter, Colleen Wegman, is president and CEO; his other daughter, Nicole Wegman, is senior vice-president.[7] Danny's father, Robert Wegman, who died in 2006, was previously chairman. Robert was the son of co-founder Walter Wegman. During his life, Robert Wegman was a pioneer in the retail food business, as well as a generous donor to educational institutions and other charities.[8][9]

Expansion

In 1965, the chain expanded beyond the Rochester area, with a store in Hornell in the Southern Tier of New York State, then 1968 in Syracuse,[10] and again in 1977 with its first Buffalo store.[10] The first store outside New York opened in 1993 in Pennsylvania and the expansion continued into New Jersey in 1999,[10] Virginia in 2004, Maryland in 2005, Massachusetts in 2011,[10][11] North Carolina in 2019, [12] and Washington, D.C. and Delaware in 2022. As a part of the company's continued expansion efforts, Wegmans opened its fifth Maryland location in Columbia on June 17, 2012.[13] Its sixth Maryland location opened in Crofton on October 28, 2012, followed by a Germantown location on September 15, 2013.[14] Wegmans opened a store at the Montgomery Mall in North Wales, Pennsylvania, on November 3, 2013, the first store to be part of a shopping mall since the closing of the Midtown Plaza store in Rochester.[15][16]

Wegmans, having long planned to expand into New England,[17][18] opened their first store in that region in Northborough, Massachusetts, on October 16, 2011.[19][20] 2014 saw Wegmans opening two more Massachusetts stores, in Newton, Chestnut Hill on April 27,[21] and in Burlington on October 26.[22] Its fourth Massachusetts store opened in Westwood on October 11, 2015.[23] The eighth Maryland store opened in Owings Mills, Maryland in September 2016.[24] In late 2016, Wegmans opened Virginia stores in Short Pump (August),[25] Midlothian,[25] and Charlottesville (November).[26] The Hanover Township, New Jersey location opened in July 2017. The Montvale, New Jersey location opened in September 2017. The Medford, Massachusetts, location opened on November 5, 2017.[27] The Natick, Massachusetts, location opened on April 29, 2018. The Chantilly, Virginia, location opened on June 3, 2018. The Lancaster, Pennsylvania, location opened on September 23, 2018.[28] The Virginia Beach, Virginia location opened on April 28, 2019. The chain's first store in North Carolina, located in Raleigh, opened on September 29, 2019. It was also the chain's 100th store.[29] The chain's first location in New York City, at Admiral's Row in Brooklyn's Navy Yard, opened on October 27, 2019.[30]

Number of Wegmans locations by state
State No.
of locations
Delaware 1
District of Columbia 1
Massachusetts 6
Maryland 8
New Jersey 9
New York 48
North Carolina 4
Pennsylvania 18
Virginia 14
Total 109

The West Cary, North Carolina location opened on July 29, 2020. The Harrison, New York location, in Westchester County, opened on August 5, 2020. The Tysons, Virginia location opened on November 4, 2020. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina location opened on February 24, 2021. The Wake Forest, North Carolina location opened on May 19, 2021. The Carlyle, Virginia location opened on May 11, 2022. The City Ridge, Washington, D.C. location opened on July 13, 2022. The Wilmington, Delaware location, the chain's first location in that state, opened on October 26, 2022. Seven other locations are currently in the works, including Holly Springs, North Carolina; Norwalk, Connecticut, the chain's first location in that state; Rockville, Maryland; Reston, Virginia; Yardley, Pennsylvania; Manhattan on Astor Place and Lake Grove, New York, the chain's first store on Long Island.[31][32][33][34][35][36][37] Wegmans originally planned to build new stores in Annapolis, Maryland, Middletown, New Jersey, Arcola, Virginia, and Cary, North Carolina but were scrapped.[38][39][40][41]

In March 2020, Wegmans announced partnership of its new Brooklyn store with Instacart to extend its reach to include all Manhattan ZIP codes.[42]

In July 2021, Wegmans announced it will launch the company's first Manhattan store in 2023. The store will be at 770 Broadway, the site of the recently shuttered Astor Place Kmart. In April 2022, Wegmans announced it would open their first Long Island location, located in Lake Grove. No opening date has been announced at this time.[43]

Operations

A modern Wegmans storefront circa 2010. This Wegmans is in Lanham, Maryland (a Washington, D.C. suburb) (referred to as the "Woodmore" store) (Store #40), the second Wegmans in Maryland
The interior of the Wegmans store in Montvale, New Jersey, 2017 (Store #105)
A Wegmans store in Manalapan, New Jersey in 2009 (Store #95)
Map of Wegmans stores, as of 2020

Wegmans is ranked 29th on the Supermarket News list of the Top 75 North American Food Retailers based on sales volume.[44] In 2009 Stores Magazine showed it to be the 74th-largest retailer in the United States with estimated revenues of $4.67 billion.[45] As of 2006, it was the 66th largest privately held company, as determined by Forbes.[46] On Forbes's 2005 list, Wegmans ranked 54th.[47]

Most of Wegmans' newer stores are of the superstore or megamarket type, with a large area, a variety of foods aimed at an upscale clientele, and, in many stores, Market Café in-store dining areas. From 2002 to 2009, Wegmans owned and operated Tastings, a full-service restaurant at its Pittsford, New York store.[7] Tastings was replaced with The Food Bar, a "seafood shack"-styled restaurant in the same space; and later with The Burger Bar, serving hamburgers. Along with the Burger Bar, Wegmans offers many other food options. This includes a Sub Shop, Sushi Bar, Pizza Shop, and a Salad Bar – all of which offer quick, prepackaged items for one's convenience. Next Door by Wegmans, a stand-alone restaurant operated by Wegmans, opened across the street from the Pittsford store in 2009.

In January 2007, Wegmans announced two business ventures: (1) opening a 19,000 sq ft (1,800 m2) liquor store in Pittsford (adding to its two existing wine centers, in Virginia and New Jersey); and (2) the creation of a $28 million Culinary Innovation Center in Chili, New York, a corporate research and development facility, including a new central kitchen, replacing some of the operations at its meat center.[48] The liquor store opened in April 2008 as Century Pittsford Wines. The store is 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m2).[49][50] This business model has been replicated at three other New York Wegmans locations, in Buffalo, DeWitt and Johnson City. Ownership of each liquor store is held by a different member of the Wegman family due to New York State regulations prohibiting individuals or corporations from owning multiple liquor stores.[51]

After Wegmans updated their logo to a script font, in November 2010, Walgreens filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Wegmans, claiming the "W" in the Wegman's logo was too similar to Walgreens.[52] The lawsuit was settled in April 2011, with Wegmans agreeing to discontinue use of its "W" logo by June 2012, although the supermarket retains the right to use the "Wegmans" name in script.[53] According to Jo Natale, Wegmans director of media relations, "The cost of making relatively minor changes to a limited number of products was much less than the cost of litigating this case to the end."[54]

Exterior of a Wegmans store in Amherst, New York, known as the "Alberta Drive" location (Store #82), in 2006, in the style common in the late 1990s

Wegmans offers a pick-up service called "Personal Shopping" at select locations.[55] In June 2017, Wegmans partnered with Instacart to provide home delivery service.[56]

On January 30, 2016, Wegmans celebrated its 100th anniversary.[57]

In February 2020, Wegmans announced its Brooklyn store would offer grocery delivery to Manhattan residents, an expansion on their Instacart partnership. Delivery fees start at $3.99, and Manhattan customers are given a two to five hour delivery window.[58]

In April 2020, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Wegmans began limiting the number of people in their stores, provided their employees with masks, and installed plexiglass shields at all checkout areas.[59]

Accolades and fan base

Wegmans has received much media attention for customer fan base, organic food, hot food bar, the depth of its food selection and employee happiness.[60] Food Network recognized it with its award for Best Grocery Store in 2007.[61] Consumer Reports subscribers voted Wegmans the top grocery store in 2017; it has held the top spot since 2006.[62] It was also profiled as part of the "Here Are The Jobs" segment on MSNBC's PoliticsNation on July 6, 2012.[63] In 2016, Market Force surveyed over 10,000 grocery store shoppers nationwide, and Wegmans was rated "America's favorite grocery store".[64]

Wegmans has a loyal fan base of customers who have received recognition for their devotion, who have lined up overnight in the thousands for a new store opening, regularly write "love letters" to the store to ask for one to open in a region not presently served, and in Northborough, Massachusetts, many high school students staged a musical about the store.[65][66] The store's fans have their own Twitter hashtag "#Wegmania" and a Tumblr.

Chase-Pitkin Home and Garden Centers

Wegmans was the parent company of Chase-Pitkin, a regional home improvement retailer. On October 4, 2005, Wegmans announced that it would close all Chase-Pitkin stores by early 2006[67] and focus on its supermarket operations. The decision to exit the home improvement business was reportedly due to the increasing dominance of national chains such as Lowe's and The Home Depot.[67] Chase-Pitkin stores closed individually at various points throughout March 2006.[68]

Discontinuation of tobacco products

In January 2008, Wegmans announced that it would no longer sell tobacco products because of their negative effects on human health and the environment[69] and would offer smoking cessation programs to all employees.[70] The decision drew praise from the American Lung Association of New York State, which presented Wegmans with the "Lung Champion Award".[70]

Wegmans brand

Wegmans began branding some products in 1979, offering basic commodities at a lower price than national brands. The Wegmans brand has gradually expanded. In 1992, it began a line of healthy products, Food You Feel Good About. Wegmans brand products marked with the Food You Feel Good About banner indicate that the product does not contain artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. The next sub-brand to be launched was Italian Classics, in 1995; it introduced pastas, canned tomatoes, and olive oils imported from Italy. In 2002, Wegmans launched a line of organic products. Organic Wegmans brand products are labeled with a green leaf.

The Wegmans brand was used extensively in the American sitcom The Office. The program is set in the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, which has a Wegmans store, although the series was filmed in suburban Los Angeles.[71][72]

References

  1. ^ a b "Find a Grocery Store Near You | Delivery and Curbside Available – Wegmans". Wegmans.
  2. ^ "Wegmans Food Markets: Grocery & Meal Delivery or Curbside". Wegmans.
  3. ^ "Company Overview – Wegmans". Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  4. ^ "Wegmans Plans to Open First CT Location".
  5. ^ Barlow, Robert (January 21, 2010). "Wegmans and Paychex make Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list". Daily Messenger. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  6. ^ Jessica Snouwaert. "The 25 best companies to work for, based on employee satisfaction". Business Insider. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "Company Overview & History – Wegmans". Wegmans.
  8. ^ "Robert Wegman: Innovation and Integrity". StoreBrandsReviewed. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  9. ^ "Robert Wegman, 87, Leader in Supermarket Innovations, Dies". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 22, 2006.
  10. ^ a b c d "History". Wegmans. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  11. ^ "Wegmans Company Overview". Archived from the original on October 19, 2015.
  12. ^ Lauren Stine. "Wegmans Debuts in North Carolina with 100th Store". Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  13. ^ "New Wegmans Opens in Columbia". June 17, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  14. ^ "Future Store Locations – Wegmans". Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  15. ^ DeBree, Crissa Shoemaker (November 17, 2011). "Wegmans' Montgomeryville store the chain's first at a mall". The Intelligencer. Archived from the original on November 19, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  16. ^ Connor, Jennifer (November 3, 2013). "Montgomery Mall's Wegmans store opens big". The Reporter. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  17. ^ "Westwood OKs liquor license for proposed Wegmans". The Patriot Ledger. May 7, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  18. ^ Abby Jordan (January 27, 2009). "The Loop in Northborough in the market for a Wegmans". The MetroWest Daily News. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  19. ^ Uek, Kathy (October 17, 2011). "Opening of Northborough Wegmans is a grand affair". The MetroWest Daily News. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
  20. ^ Bradley, Michelle. "Wegmans Manager Humbled by Record-Breaking Opening". The Northborough Daily Voice. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  21. ^ Rknepper, Rknepper (April 27, 2014). "Chestnut Hill Wegmans Opens". Boston Globe. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  22. ^ Abelson, Jen (June 4, 2011). "Wegmans to build store near Burlington Mall". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  23. ^ "Westwood falling in love with its new Wegmans". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  24. ^ Warren, Pat (September 16, 2016). "New Wegmans to Revitalize Owings Mills". CBS Baltimore. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  25. ^ a b Daudani, Ray (January 28, 2016). "Wegmans announces opening dates for Midlothian, Short Pump stores". Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  26. ^ Breijo, Stephanie (August 6, 2016). "First Look: Wegmans Short Pump -Take a peek inside Short Pump's newest grocery store. Then take a "micro stretch."". Richmond Magazine. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  27. ^ DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (November 4, 2017). "A massive Wegmans is opening in Medford". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  28. ^ Mekeel, Tim (October 18, 2015). "It's true: Wegmans is coming to Lancaster, picks site near Long's Park". LNP. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  29. ^ Ashad Hajela (September 30, 2019). "The numbers are in: Raleigh breaks records in Wegmans store opening". The News & Observer. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  30. ^ King, Kate (October 13, 2019). "Wegmaniacs Count the Days to Brooklyn Store Opening". WSJ. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  31. ^ "Future Store Locations". Wegmans. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  32. ^ "Wegmans targets North Carolina for expansion". Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  33. ^ Wegmans grocery store coming to Harrison by Gabriel Rom, The Journal News December 14, 2016
  34. ^ Wegmans to Open at Brooklyn Navy Yard By MATT A.V. CHABAN, The New York Times May 12, 2015
  35. ^ Wegmans signs lease to build new store in Virginia Beach By Emily Satchell and Laura Caso for WAVY-TV.com; January 19, 2017, 7:21 pm
  36. ^ Wegmans is coming to Washington By Abha Bhattarai for The Washington Post May 21, 2017
  37. ^ Daniels, Steve (February 21, 2019). "Wegmans planning sixth Triangle grocery store in Holly Springs". WTVD Channel 11. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  38. ^ Snachez, Olivia; Cook, Chase. "Wegmans pulls out of development plans near Parole Town Center in Annapolis". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  39. ^ Neibauer, Michael. "Wegmans pulls out of planned Loudoun shopping center, developer scales back retail". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  40. ^ "Wegmans Pulls Out, Village 35 No Longer Coming To Middletown". Middletown, NJ Patch. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  41. ^ "Wegmans no longer coming to Fenton development in Cary, store officials say". ABC11-Raleigh Durham. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  42. ^ Redman, Russell (February 13, 2020). "Wegmans brings online grocery delivery to Manhattan via Instacart". Supermarket News.
  43. ^ "Wegmans to Open First Manhattan Store in 2023". NBC New York. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  44. ^ "TOP 75 RETAILERS & WHOLESALERS". Supermarket News.
  45. ^ "Stores Top 100 Retailers" (PDF). Stores.org. July 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  46. ^ "#66 Wegmans Food Markets". Forbes. November 9, 2006. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  47. ^ "America's Largest Private Companies". Forbes. November 11, 2005. Retrieved November 16, 2006.
  48. ^ Rand, Ben (January 6, 2007). "Wegmans embarks on 2 local projects". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved January 6, 2007.[dead link‍]
  49. ^ "Pittsford Plaza – Century Pittsford Wines run independently of Wegmans". Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
  50. ^ "Rundown of New York State liquor laws prohibiting wine and liquor sales in grocery stores". Retrieved June 13, 2008.
  51. ^ "Opening soon in Wegmans parking lot: Amherst St. Wine & Liquor".
  52. ^ "Walgreens sues Wegmans in logo dispute". The Wall Street Journal. November 6, 2010. Archived from the original on November 8, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  53. ^ Richard Patterson (April 27, 2011). "Wegmans Settles with Walgreens over War of W's". Intellectual Property Brief. American University. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  54. ^ "Press Release: Wegmans Releases Statement on Lawsuit Resolution". Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  55. ^ "Personal Shopping". Wegmans. 2017. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  56. ^ Jason Del Rey (June 14, 2017). "The Wegmans grocery chain is introducing delivery in partnership with Instacart". Recode. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  57. ^ "Wegmans celebrates 100 years in business". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  58. ^ "Wegmans' Brooklyn Store Offers Grocery Delivery to Manhattan". Progressive Grocer. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  59. ^ "Wegmans limiting shoppers, starting employee temp checks". syracuse. April 14, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  60. ^ The Wonder Of Wegmans by PYMNTS.com Posted on January 9, 2017
  61. ^ "And the Winner is Wegmans!" (Press release). Wegmans. April 16, 2007. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2008.
  62. ^ Clausen, Todd. "'Consumer Reports' subscribers pick Wegmans as top grocer, again". Democrat and Chronicle.
  63. ^ "Here are the jobs". NBC News.
  64. ^ America's favorite grocery store is... by Kathryn Vasel for CNN; April 20, 2016
  65. ^ Why Do So Many People Go Crazy for Wegmans? – How an upstate New York grocer found a national cult following By Robert Klara; February 12, 2016
  66. ^ HOW WEGMANS INSPIRED THE MOST RABID FANBASE IN THE GROCERY WORLD By PRIYA KRISHNA for Thrillist Media Group Published on October 2, 2017
  67. ^ a b "Wegmans to close all Chase-Pitkins". auburnpub.com. October 5, 2005. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  68. ^ "Parent Wegmans to Close All Chase-Pitkin Stores". chainstoreage.com. October 5, 2005. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  69. ^ James Fink (January 4, 2008). "Wegmans ceasing tobacco sales". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  70. ^ a b "Wegmans, DeCicco Markets Ditch Cigarettes". consumeraffairs.com. June 2, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  71. ^ Fien, Christine Carrie (March 7, 2007). "TV SCENE: Wegmans checks in at 'The Office'". City Newspaper. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  72. ^ "Wegmans Locator Detail for Scranton, PA". Wegmans. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008.

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Wegmans&oldid=1125670261"