World Twitter: Wegmans Food Markets

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.

Type	Private
Industry	Retail (Grocery)
Founded	1916
Headquarters	Gates, New York, U.S.
Key people	Danny Wegman, Chairman and CEO Colleen Wegman, President
Revenue	$5.15 billion (2009),
Employees	38,000 (2009)
Website	www.wegmans.com

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a family-owned U.S. regional supermarket chain with more than 75 stores spread across the mid-Atlantic region, in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and in 2011, Massachusetts. Founded in 1916 in Rochester, New York, Wegmans has appeared on Fortune's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list since its inception in 1998, and has ranked among the top 10 for eight consecutive years. Food Network recognized it with its award for Best Grocery Store in 2007, and Consumer Reports ranked it the top large grocery chain in the United States in 2009.

History

Map of Wegmans stores from New York to New Jersey (bigger dots for areas with more stores)

Jersey (bigger dots for areas with more stores)

Wegmans is a privately owned company, founded in 1916 by John and Walter Wegman. The original name was the Rochester Fruit and Vegetable Company. Wegmans is headquartered in Gates, New York, a suburb of Rochester. Danny Wegman is CEO. His daughter, Colleen Wegman is president, and his other daughter, Nicole Wegman, is vice-president of restaurant operations. His father Robert Wegman, who died on April 20, 2006, was chairman. Robert was the son of co-founder Walter Wegman. During his life Robert Wegman distinguished himself as a pioneer in the retail food business, as well as a generous donor to educational institutions and other charities.

A modern Wegmans storefront circa 2010. This newest center is located
in Lanham, Maryland, the second location in the state.

In 1968, the chain expanded outside the Rochester area for the first time with a store in Syracuse, and again in 1977 with its first Buffalo store. The first store outside New York state opened in 1993 in Erie, Pennsylvania and the expansion continued into New Jersey in 1999, Virginia in 2004, and Maryland in 2005. Wegmans, long planning to expand into Massachusetts, will open a store in Northborough in 2011.

Operations

Exterior of a typical Wegmans, in the style common in the late 1990s. Located in Amherst, New York

In 2009, Wegmans ranked number 29 on the Supermarket News list of the Top 75 North American Food Retailers based on sales volume, up from number 32 on the 2007 Supermarket News list, and 7th among privately held U.S. supermarkets.[citation needed] In 2009 Stores Magazine showed it to be the 74th largest retailer in the United States with estimated revenues of $4.67 billion As of 2006, it was the 66th largest privately held company, as determined by Forbes. On Forbes's 2005 list, Wegmans ranked 54th.

Most of Wegmans' newer stores are of the "superstore" or "megamarket" type, with a very large area, a large variety of foods aimed at an upscale market, and in many stores, Market Café in-store dining areas. The company also used to own and operate Tastings, a restaurant at its Pittsford, New York, store that offered diners three distinct eating areas, making the Pittsford Wegmans largest of all.[citation needed] Tastings is now closed and the Next Door Bar and Grill a stand alone restaurant is open across the street from the Pittsford store. The Fairfax, VA store is the highest-volume store.

In January 2007, Wegmans announced two new business ventures: (1) plans to open 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 US$28 million "Culinary Innovation Center" (in Chili, New York), a corporate research and development facility that will house a new central kitchen (replacing some of the current operations at its meat center).[19] The liquor store opened in April 2008 under the name of Century Pittsford Wines. It is not owned by the company, but is independently owned by Nicole Wegman due to New York State liquor laws. The store is 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m2)

In November of 2010, Walgreens filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Wegmans, claiming the "W" in the Wegman's logo is too similar to its own.

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 and focus instead on its highly successful 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. Chase-Pitkin stores closed individually at various points throughout March 2006.

Tobacco products

In January 2008, Wegmans announced that they would no longer sell tobacco products[24] and would offer smoking cessation programs to all employees. The decision drew praise from the American Lung Association of New York State, who presented Wegmans with the "Lung Champion Award".

Wegmans brand

A Wegmans store in Manalapan, New Jersey

Wegmans began branding their own products in 1979 offering basic commodities with a lower price than the national brands. The "Wegmans" brand has gradually expanded. In 1992, it started a line of health products called "Food You Feel Good About." The next sub-brand to be launched was "Italian Classics." In 1995, Wegmans introduced its imported pastas, canned tomatoes, olive oils, etc. Many of the products are sourced from Italy. In 2002, Wegmans launched its own line of organic products.

The Wegmans House Brand has been used extensively in the American sitcom The Office; the program is set in the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, which does, in fact, have a Wegmans store. It also appears on QVC, the shopping channel.

The house brand prior to "Wegmans" was "Staff"

See also