Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 71-store U.S. regional supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland. The family-owned company, founded in 1916 by John and Walter Wegman, is headquartered in Rochester, New York.
| Wegmans | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (Grocery) |
| Founded | 1916 |
| Headquarters | Rochester, New York, USA |
Key people | Danny Wegman, CEO Colleen Wegman, President |
| Revenue | $3.8 billion (2005) |
Number of employees | 35,000 (2006) |
| Website | www.wegmans.com |
Wegmans has been named one of the "Top 100 Companies to Work For" in America by Fortune Magazine every year since the inception of the list in 1998, ranking first in 2005 and second most recently in 2006.[1][2][3][4] Consumer Reports magazine ranked the chain as number one in its survey of the top 54 supermarkets in the United States for 2006.[5] Danny Wegman is CEO. His daughter Colleen Wegman is president, while his father Robert Wegman, who died on April 20, 2006, was chairman.[6] Robert was the son of Walter Wegman.
Many of Wegmans' newer stores are of the "superstore" or "megamarket" type, with very large square footage, a large variety of foods aimed at an upscale market, and in some cases, Market Cafe in-store dining areas.
Wegmans was the parent company of Chase-Pitkin, a regional home improvement retailer. On October 4, 2005, it announced that it would close all Chase-Pitkin stores by early 2006 and focus instead on Wegmans' highly successful supermarket operations. The decision to exit the home improvement business was reportedly due to the increasing dominance of national chains such as The Home Depot and Lowe's. Chase-Pitkin stores closed individually over the course of the month of March 2006.
Store count by area
- New York State: 53 stores
- Pennsylvania: 12
- Erie: 2
- Downingtown: 1
- State College: 1
- Williamsport: 1
- Harrisburg: (coming soon)
- Scranton: 1
- Wilkes-Barre: 1
- Nazareth: 1
- Bethlehem: 1
- Allentown: 1
- Warrington: 1
- New Jersey: 7 (mostly in the central part of the state)
- Cherry Hill: 1
- Bridgewater: 1
- Manalapan: 1
- Mt. Laurel: 1
- Ocean Township: 1
- Princeton: 1
- Woodbridge: 1
- Northern Virginia: 4
- Dulles
- Fairfax
- Leesburg (coming soon)
- Woodbridge (coming soon)
- Maryland: 1 (although a second one is planned for Landover)
Company facts
- The #1 company to work for in Fortune Magazine's "Best Companies to Work For" in 2005, and the #2 company in 2006.
- Ranked #1 in Consumer Reports 2006 ranking of supermarkets. [1]
- Owns and operates the largest egg farm in New York State, with capacity for over 750,000 hens. [2]
- Donated over 14 million lb (6,000 t) of food (350 tractor trailers) to local food banks and food pantries in 2004. [3]
- 31st on the 2004 Supermarket News list of the Top 75 Supermarkets based on sales volume; ranked 7th among privately held U.S. supermarkets.
- On Forbes's 2005 list of the "Largest Private Companies in the U.S.," Wegmans ranks 54th.
- Wegmans is the marquee sponsor of the Rochester Wegmans LPGA tournament. [4]
Wegmans has been criticized regarding the treatment of hens on its egg farm in Wolcott, New York by the Rochester-based animal-advocacy organization Compassionate Consumers.[5] Wegmans responded that their facility meets or exceeds the standards suggested by the United Egg Producers’ independent committee of animal science experts.[7]
References
- ^ Robert Levering, Milton Moskowitz, Maura Griffin Solovar, "The 100 Best Companies To Work For In America", Fortune Magazine. January 12, 1998.
- ^ "The 100 Best Companies To Work For: With labor in short supply, these companies are pulling out all the stops for employees.", Fortune Magazine. January 10, 2000.
- ^ "Smucker tops 'Best Companis' list: Fortune magazine names jam and jelly maker new No. 1 company to work for in 2004.", CNN/Money.com. December 29, 2003.
- ^ "Wegmans tops best employers list: Fortune launches eighth annual list of '100 Best Companies to Work For', CNN/Money.com. January 10, 2005. Last accessed on March 26, 2006.
- ^ "Wegmans rated tops in Consumer Reports.", MSNBC. September 1, 2006. Last accessed on September 1, 2006.
- ^ Robert Wegman, of Wegmans Markets, Dies The Washington Post. April 20, 2006
- ^ "Wegmans Egg Farm", Official Statement from Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., November 14, 2005. Last Accessed on March 25, 2006.
- America's Largest Private Companies (2005). Shlomo Reifman and Samantha N. Wong, editors. Forbes.com, 11 Nov 2005.
- "BBB Division Gets FTC Backing Vs. Egg Marketers". Jim Edwards. Brandweek, 6 October 2005.