| Type | Private Family business |
|---|---|
| Industry | Grocery |
| Founded | Rochester, New York, U.S. (1916) |
| Founder(s) | John Wegman Walter Wegman |
| Headquarters | Gates, New York, U.S. |
| Number of locations | More than 75 stores[1] |
| Area served | Mid-Atlantic states |
| Key people | Danny Wegman, Chairman and CEO Colleen Wegman, President |
| Revenue | US$5.15 billion (2009)[2][3][4] |
| Employees | 38,000 (2009) |
| Website | wegmans.com |
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a family-owned U.S. regional supermarket chain headquartered in Gates, New York, near Rochester.[5][6] Wegmans has more than 75 stores[1] spread across the mid-Atlantic region, in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and 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.[7] Food Network recognized it with its award for Best Grocery Store in 2007,[8] and Consumer Reports ranked it the top large grocery chain in the United States in 2009.[9]
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Wegmans is a privately owned company, founded in 1916 by John and Walter Wegman as the Rochester Fruit and Vegetable Company. Wegmans is now 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 in 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.[10][11]
In 1968, the chain expanded outside the Rochester area for the first time with a store in Syracuse,[12] and again in 1977 with its first Buffalo store.[12] The first store outside New York state opened in 1993 in Erie, Pennsylvania[12] and the expansion continued into New Jersey in 1999,[12] Virginia in 2004, and Maryland in 2005.[12][13] Wegmans, long planning to expand into Massachusetts,[14][15] opened a store in Northborough in 2011[16] and will open another in Burlington in 2013.[17] Wegmans is planning on opening a store at the Montgomery Mall in North Wales, Pennsylvania in 2013, the first store to be located in a shopping mall since the closing of their Midtown Plaza store in Rochester.[18]
In 2009, Wegmans ranked number 29 on the Supermarket News list of the Top 75 North American Food Retailers based on sales volume,[19] up from number 32 on the 2007 Supermarket News list,[3] and 7th among privately held U.S. supermarkets. In 2009 Stores Magazine showed it to be the 74th largest retailer in the United States with estimated revenues of $4.67 billion[20] As of 2006, it was the 66th largest privately held company, as determined by Forbes.[21] On Forbes's 2005 list, Wegmans ranked 54th.[22]
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. Tastings is now closed, and has been replaced with The Food Bar, a 'seafood shack' styled restaurant in the same space. Next Door Bar and Grill, a stand alone restaurant also operated by Wegmans, is open across the street from the Pittsford 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).[23] 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)[24][25]
In November 2010, Walgreens filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Wegmans, claiming the "W" in the Wegman's logo is too similar to its own.[26] 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 freely use the “Wegmans” name in script.[27] 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,”[28]
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[29] 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.[29] Chase-Pitkin stores closed individually at various points throughout March 2006.
In January 2008, Wegmans announced that they would no longer sell tobacco products[30] and would offer smoking cessation programs to all employees.[31] The decision drew praise from the American Lung Association of New York State, who presented Wegmans with the "Lung Champion Award".[31]
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.[32][33] It also appears on QVC, the shopping channel.
The house brand prior to "Wegmans" was "Staff".
Several scenes from the movie Eight Legged Freaks were filmed at the Manalapan, New Jersey location.