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Wegmans expands into markets based on a few different factors.
And yes, education and income is one of those factors. It is actually a factor for any retailer. And what that retailers target demographic is...
Prior to their major metropolitan expansions into Southeast Pennsylvania and DC, they primarily were located in Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania with much smaller format stores then they operate now.
For the record though, their original stores still are smaller format and still offer the same high quality ingredients as the new and larger stores and they all still operate today.
And it really is these smaller markets they originated from, which do have lower median incomes, is what has caused Wegmans to strive to always be value oriented and has kept that a vital piece of the core of the company and its values.
For example, its store in Williamsport, Pennsylvania has operated there for 30 years, and that region is in no way high income. Yet it does very well, because it offers great products for a great value.
I grew up on Wegmans.. I was lucky to have family in Northern Pennsylvania, where their original stores are located. That same store is there. And it still does just as well. And it offers both premium and value oriented products all under one roof and is definitely a sought after grocer even in the lower median income communities it originated from.
Wegmans is meant to cater to really everyone, and this is why they succeed so well. They do cater to the value oriented shopper, since their Wegmans branded products are very competitively priced and lower in price than name brand products and of higher quality in general.
They cater to those seeking high quality produce and in my opinion they have the best produce department of any grocer Ive ever been in and far exceeds Whole Foods in being able to provide high quality, fairly priced and often locally sourced produce into its store.
They also have expanded their focus on prepared foods, and offering quick on the go options for those in a hurry. This category and segment though has grown tremendously over the past 20 years, so it makes sense they have focused on it. The grocery stores that are doing this well... are the ones really pulling ahead.
Wegmans also offers an amazing selection of gourmet cheeses, and speciality and organic products that you would find at say a Whole Foods, for the shopper who is looking to add some more refined ingredients or options within their weekly list.
They also have really focused on Wine and Beer as a major component of their store, and they offer their in store wine at $6 a bottle which is competitively priced.
One other thing Wegmans does very well is pricing. And it is very competitively priced on most products. For example their boneless Chicken Breast is $1.99 a pound (Cheaper than WalMart or Aldi) and they have such great consistency in their pricing in regions.
The store prices at the Harrisburg Wegmans (which opened prior to the King of Prussia) and the King of Prussia Wegmans are identical. The Harrisburg Wegmans was actually one of their first expansion locations outside of Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania. And it was one of the first Wegmans to adopt its now used large store layout.
Despite the Harrisburg market being a slightly lower median income overall, they could of most definitely charged more for their products at the King of Prussia Wegmans... but no the prices are all the same. Which that consistency is highly valued.
Wegmans is also known for having high quality customer service because yes indeed it does take care of its employees very well and it is consistently ranked as a Top 100 company to work for in the USA for 23 years and this year ranked as #4. https://www.wegmans.com/news-media/p...s-to-work-for/
Wegmans is considered somewhat of a destination grocer.. so no it will never operate locations too close to one another and they do not want to over saturate the market. They have two locations in South Jersey.
If anywhere, I could see them potentially opening one in Marlton as a third location, but I am not sure if that part of South Jersey is still growing? I have not been to Marlton in some time. I do know they like to locate their stores in areas that are high growth.
I think the ideal market would be to target North Jersey tbh. They just recently opened a store in Brooklyn NY. And despite being from Rochester, NY have no NYC Metro presence to any degree outside of its new Brooklyn location. But the NYC market can be a tough one in regards to operations.
The latest store they will be opening in the Philadelphia Metro is in Bucks County, just outside Yardley. I see it being highly popular, as shockingly that part of Bucks County, despite its affluence and education has no real elevated grocer.
I am a huge Wegmans fan, because I am value oriented and I do want to buy my chicken for $1.99 a pound and save some money on Wegman's branded products... but then I also want my Alpine Cheese and Olives for Hor D' Oreves when hosting guest.
And that is what Wegmans does so well, it offers both value products and gourmet all in one store. They are consistently ranked in the top 3 grocery stores in America for the past 15+ years now...
Fun fact: Pennsylvania has the second most Wegmans after New York.
Last edited by rowhomecity; 05-05-2021 at 10:18 AM..
Wegmans expands into markets based on a few different factors.
And yes, education and income is one of those factors. It is actually a factor for any retailer. And what that retailers target demographic is...
Prior to their major metropolitan expansions into Southeast Pennsylvania and DC, they primarily were located in Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania with much smaller format stores then they operate now.
For the record though, their original stores still are smaller format and still offer the same high quality ingredients as the new and larger stores and they all still operate today.
And it really is these smaller markets they originated from, which do have lower median incomes, is what has caused Wegmans to strive to always be value oriented and has kept that a vital piece of the core of the company and its values.
For example, its store in Williamsport, Pennsylvania has operated there for 30 years, and that region is in no way high income. Yet it does very well, because it offers great products for a great value.
I grew up on Wegmans.. I was lucky to have family in Northern Pennsylvania, where their original stores are located. That same store is there. And it still does just as well. And it offers both premium and value oriented products all under one roof and is definitely a sought after grocer even in the lower median income communities it originated from.
Wegmans is meant to cater to really everyone, and this is why they succeed so well. They do cater to the value oriented shopper, since their Wegmans branded products are very competitively priced and lower in price than name brand products and of higher quality in general.
They cater to those seeking high quality produce and in my opinion they have the best produce department of any grocer Ive ever been in and far exceeds Whole Foods in being able to provide high quality, fairly priced and often locally sourced produce into its store.
They also have expanded their focus on prepared foods, and offering quick on the go options for those in a hurry. This category and segment though has grown tremendously over the past 20 years, so it makes sense they have focused on it. The grocery stores that are doing this well... are the ones really pulling ahead.
Wegmans also offers an amazing selection of gourmet cheeses, and speciality and organic products that you would find at say a Whole Foods, for the shopper who is looking to add some more refined ingredients or options within their weekly list.
They also have really focused on Wine and Beer as a major component of their store, and they offer their in store wine at $6 a bottle which is competitively priced.
One other thing Wegmans does very well is pricing. And it is very competitively priced on most products. For example their boneless Chicken Breast is $1.99 a pound (Cheaper than WalMart or Aldi) and they have such great consistency in their pricing in regions.
The store prices at the Harrisburg Wegmans (which opened prior to the King of Prussia) and the King of Prussia Wegmans are identical. The Harrisburg Wegmans was actually one of their first expansion locations outside of Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania. And it was one of the first Wegmans to adopt its now used large store layout.
Despite the Harrisburg market being a slightly lower median income overall, they could of most definitely charged more for their products at the King of Prussia Wegmans... but no the prices are all the same. Which that consistency is highly valued.
Wegmans is also known for having high quality customer service because yes indeed it does take care of its employees very well and it is consistently ranked as a Top 100 company to work for in the USA for 23 years and this year ranked as #4. https://www.wegmans.com/news-media/p...s-to-work-for/
Wegmans is considered somewhat of a destination grocer.. so no it will never operate locations too close to one another and they do not want to over saturate the market. They have two locations in South Jersey.
If anywhere, I could see them potentially opening one in Marlton as a third location, but I am not sure if that part of South Jersey is still growing? I have not been to Marlton in some time. I do know they like to locate their stores in areas that are high growth.
I think the ideal market would be to target North Jersey tbh. They just recently opened a store in Brooklyn NY. And despite being from Rochester, NY have no NYC Metro presence to any degree outside of its new Brooklyn location. But the NYC market can be a tough one in regards to operations.
The latest store they will be opening in the Philadelphia Metro is in Bucks County, just outside Yardley. I see it being highly popular, as shockingly that part of Bucks County, despite its affluence and education has no real elevated grocer.
I am a huge Wegmans fan, because I am value oriented and I do want to buy my chicken for $1.99 a pound and save some money on Wegman's branded products... but then I also want my Alpine Cheese and Olives for Hor D' Oreves when hosting guest.
And that is what Wegmans does so well, it offers both value products and gourmet all in one store. They are consistently ranked in the top 3 grocery stores in America for the past 15+ years now...
Fun fact: Pennsylvania has the second most Wegmans after New York.
The most recent Wegmans opening in the Philly metro was Concordville and there's another store opening up outside Wilmington, DE. With that, I actually think they are pretty saturated in the Philly market. They are focusing growth on the Triangle area of NC with a few more filling the gaps in the Northeast.
I could potentially see the Washington Township area off the ACE as a third South Jersey store. That area is growing and is distinct enough from their CH/ML stores. It has about 50k people and strong household income and education. Washington township would also pull from Deptford which is pretty built-out and has probably reached peak suburbia and entering a slow decline.
The most recent Wegmans opening in the Philly metro was Concordville and there's another store opening up outside Wilmington, DE. With that, I actually think they are pretty saturated in the Philly market. They are focusing growth on the Triangle area of NC with a few more filling the gaps in the Northeast.
I could potentially see the Washington Township area off the ACE as a third South Jersey store. That area is growing and is distinct enough from their CH/ML stores. It has about 50k people and strong household income and education. Washington township would also pull from Deptford which is pretty built-out and has probably reached peak suburbia and entering a slow decline.
I forgot about the Wilmington store in Greenville currently being built. Yes that is the next to open in the Philadelphia metro... following that Greenville, DE store the Bucks County store by Yardley is next.
The Yardley Wegmans just won approval last month and construction should begin by Fall 2021 with most likely an opening of the Yardley, Pennsylvania Wegmans in Summer 2022.
And I guess Wegmans has tapped a bit more into the NYC Jersey burbs than I thought. But still less than Philadelphia.
For the Philadelphia market... I could see a Philadelphia City location. (They opened their first urban location in Brooklyn in 2019).
And also a location along the Lower Main Line around Bryn Mawr or Ardmore, and also a location between Media and Newtown Square..
And potentially another location by Christina, DE and a third South Jersey location for the Philadelphia market. At that point it would probably be saturated....
For other Pennsylvania locations:
I could see them opening a second Harrisburg location close to Hershey in the near future as well within Pennsylvania. The Harrisburg metro could definitely support two Wegmans. For reference the Lehigh Valley has 3 Wegmans.
I could see a location opening in State College as well. Oh.. (never mind on this. They already have a Wegmans in State College). lol
I do not think they invested in their distribution out to the west... Although I could see the Pittsburgh market being highly successful, as the dominant grocer called Giant Eagle located out in Pittsburgh is below average in every category.
One of their main distribution and logistic centers is located in Pennsylvania and they are very much oriented with quality control in not just products but growth and their stores do very very well so part of their strategy has been to economize the distribution center they operate so I could see them continuing to expand with the stores I outlined above.
Last edited by rowhomecity; 05-05-2021 at 12:05 PM..
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Originally Posted by bridge12
The most recent Wegmans opening in the Philly metro was Concordville and there's another store opening up outside Wilmington, DE. With that, I actually think they are pretty saturated in the Philly market. They are focusing growth on the Triangle area of NC with a few more filling the gaps in the Northeast.
I could potentially see the Washington Township area off the ACE as a third South Jersey store. That area is growing and is distinct enough from their CH/ML stores. It has about 50k people and strong household income and education. Washington township would also pull from Deptford which is pretty built-out and has probably reached peak suburbia and entering a slow decline.
You're right about the Triangle. There are currently 3 Wegmans open there and a 4th is supposed to open this month. A 5th will open next year. They have selected a location for another distribution center near Richmond. It will stock Virginia and North Carolina stores and potentially Maryland. It's unlikely that they'll open more stores in North Carolina until the new distribution center is built.
At one point Wegmans was looking at acquiring the old CBS records/Sony plant in Pitman and turning it into a store. They changed their minds.
I forgot about the Wilmington store in Greenville currently being built. Yes that is the next to open in the Philadelphia metro... following that Greenville, DE store the Bucks County store by Yardley is next.
The Yardley Wegmans just won approval last month and construction should begin by Fall 2021 with most likely an opening of the Yardley, Pennsylvania Wegmans in Summer 2022.
And I guess Wegmans has tapped a bit more into the NYC Jersey burbs than I thought. But still less than Philadelphia.
For the Philadelphia market... I could see a Philadelphia City location. (They opened their first urban location in Brooklyn in 2019).
And also a location along the Lower Main Line around Bryn Mawr or Ardmore, and also a location between Media and Newtown Square..
And potentially another location by Christina, DE and a third South Jersey location for the Philadelphia market. At that point it would probably be saturated....
For other Pennsylvania locations:
I could see them opening a second Harrisburg location close to Hershey in the near future as well within Pennsylvania. The Harrisburg metro could definitely support two Wegmans. For reference the Lehigh Valley has 3 Wegmans.
I could see a location opening in State College as well. Oh.. (never mind on this. They already have a Wegmans in State College). lol
I do not think they invested in their distribution out to the west... Although I could see the Pittsburgh market being highly successful, as the dominant grocer called Giant Eagle located out in Pittsburgh is below average in every category.
One of their main distribution and logistic centers is located in Pennsylvania and they are very much oriented with quality control in not just products but growth and their stores do very very well so part of their strategy has been to economize the distribution center they operate so I could see them continuing to expand with the stores I outlined above.
Oh, I forgot about the Lower Makefield store. That definitely fills in a gap up there. Lots of wealth around the Washington Crossing area.
The rumor for a long time was a second Wegmans store in Susquehanna township but that never came to fruition. The response to the Mechanicsburg store was underwhelming and it never hit its sales goals early on. I agree somewhere between Harrisburg and Hershey would be a good second store in that market now that its matured somewhat.
Oh, I forgot about the Lower Makefield store. That definitely fills in a gap up there. Lots of wealth around the Washington Crossing area.
The rumor for a long time was a second Wegmans store in Susquehanna township but that never came to fruition. The response to the Mechanicsburg store was underwhelming and it never hit its sales goals early on. I agree somewhere between Harrisburg and Hershey would be a good second store in that market now that its matured somewhat.
Yea, that store opened I believe back in 2007... it has always been busy.
I am not sure where you heard its sales were below expectations. This is an article from when it first opened.
That store in the Harrisburg suburbs of Mechanicsburg has always done well and is always busy.
That Harrisburg location was actually one of the first batch along with its store in Hunt Valley, MD and Dulles, VA of its large format stores/layout it still uses today in its first expansion efforts outside of its Upstate, NY and Northern, Pennsylvania locations....
And yes, there were multiple rumors they would expand into a new project on the East Shore of Harrisburg.
They like to anchor strong retail centers with the new store development and there really has not been a proposal for one on the East Shore in quite a while.
I honestly thought they would anchor the Hershey West End Project which is still in the design Phase....
They also focus A LOT of their energy on their proprietary brand names. Often, you can't find major brands on their shelves. They will only sell their own brand. It's subtle sometimes but annoying. To be fair, their house brand is usually of high quality.
It's amazing to see how they have grown to be a gold standard in the industry. They were never like that until relatively recently. They are a very good place to work, I'm told.
I just think it's a little overhyped. I went to the Mt. Laurel Wegmans today and was comparing products that I normally buy at Mom's or Whole Foods.
Hummus - it seems Wegmans like to stock a lot of its own hummus. But, the in house Wegmans, just like the Whole Foods or Trader Joes brand hummus has is canola oil in it. (One variety didn't but was a large tub). Canola oil really shouldn't be in hummus but all of these in store brands use low quality oils. I prefer Whole Foods and Mom's that have more selection of organic/natural products, and they try to keep products without crap in the ingredient list. (Although both for some reason carry products with Maltodextrin).
At Wegmans, I asked the clerk where I could find a. Nutritional Yeast, b. Apple Cider Vinegar and c. Lesser Evil himalayan salt popcorn. In a way it's good Wegmans carried all, but these closer to natural products were scattered and far throughout the store next to conventional/highly processed items. They also didn't have Braggs brand but had just Wegmans brand for Nutritional Yeast, although it might be the same.
Aisles 11b, 15b and 18b. I also couldn't find Ula brand tortilla that is sold in both Whole Foods and Mom's and Hillary brand burgers. The natural dry shelf selection within Wegmans is small and next to Quest sports bars.
I mean why not create a larger natural section of the store?
As for the produce, they had organic produce, but it was also pretty well separated and mixed with conventional.
It has more organic than a typical ShopRite, so I give it credit, but I also realize that it's more like a ShopRite and Whole Foods combined but without as many of the natural products that a WF has inside.
The Marlton ShopRite has a natural/organic nook in the back of the produce area, which is convenient. Items like Apple Cider Vinegar are near other natural item products.
Anyways, I kind of prefer doing my organic/natural shopping at a place like Whole Foods or Trader Joes, and conventional at ShopRite or Walmart, than deal with parking at Wegmans which is like parking at a mall during Christmas holidays, and then walking all over the store to find what I need.
I am not sure where you heard its sales were below expectations. This is an article from when it first opened.
That store in the Harrisburg suburbs of Mechanicsburg has always done well and is always busy.
That Harrisburg location was actually one of the first batch along with its store in Hunt Valley, MD and Dulles, VA of its large format stores/layout it still uses today in its first expansion efforts outside of its Upstate, NY and Northern, Pennsylvania locations....
And yes, there were multiple rumors they would expand into a new project on the East Shore of Harrisburg.
They like to anchor strong retail centers with the new store development and there really has not been a proposal for one on the East Shore in quite a while.
I honestly thought they would anchor the Hershey West End Project which is still in the design Phase....
It would be the perfect anchor tenant. Along with a Target which is missing from Hershey... And maybe the Harrisburg's first Nordstrom Rack??
I know because I worked there
We had metrics and goals each week. We also got to see the sales and units along with every other store in the same district. The Mechanicsburg store was in the bottom 2 or 3 stores in the state consistently. Usually just barely above Williamsport and State College (though State College would have better weeks during home games). Corporate made a mistake when they opened the store with the same prices as the Philly stores and Lehigh Valley. Giant, which as you know is a legend in those parts, quickly cut prices and ran bonus buys that we didn't March. The idea of another Harrisburg market store was canned. Eventually, corporate got the hint and lowered prices. Sales started to improve when I left but were still in the bottom half of all the stores in PA. The store was even named Harrisburg West when it first opened because it was commonly know they were planning an east shore store too. I think they just thought the market would fall head over heels for Wegmans and it just didn't. Eventually they renamed it Harrisburg (again, dumb lol) and finally settled on Mechanicsburg. We of course suggested Mechanicsburg or Silver Spring from the beginning.
We had metrics and goals each week. We also got to see the sales and units along with every other store in the same district. The Mechanicsburg store was in the bottom 2 or 3 stores in the state consistently. Usually just barely above Williamsport and State College (though State College would have better weeks during home games). Corporate made a mistake when they opened the store with the same prices as the Philly stores and Lehigh Valley. Giant, which as you know is a legend in those parts, quickly cut prices and ran bonus buys that we didn't March. The idea of another Harrisburg market store was canned. Eventually, corporate got the hint and lowered prices. Sales started to improve when I left but were still in the bottom half of all the stores in PA. The store was even named Harrisburg West when it first opened because it was commonly know they were planning an east shore store too. I think they just thought the market would fall head over heels for Wegmans and it just didn't. Eventually they renamed it Harrisburg (again, dumb lol) and finally settled on Mechanicsburg. We of course suggested Mechanicsburg or Silver Spring from the beginning.
Thanks for the information...
I wonder if sales improved?? As I am sure you are aware, Wegmans really does no major advertising so I think it was not really well known in the area specifically at the time. But I think it really has gained a following in the Harrisburg area now and a second location would do well. But I obviously do not have the numbers in front of me.
The Mechanicsburg store is always very busy when I go.... which is not often, since I do not live in that area any longer.. but enough to say it certainly is not dead. lol
You are right though on the pricing models.... Giant got really aggressive early on with 1) Marketing and 2) Sales as they call "Bonus Buys"... because Giant was scared that Wegmans was going penetrate the Harrisburg and Lancaster markets with 3 - 6 stores. Giant pays big bucks for marketing.... a la "Giant Center" is just one small example.
Giant is more expensive then Wegmans for staples 100%... but people love the idea of getting exclusive "member savings" to the point people feel like they are getting a better deal, so certain items are discounted but the other items most people buy on a weekly basis are definitely more expensive in the store sans the ones on sale that week, so you end up still paying more overall. It is sort of a mirage effect to get people in the store...
Where Wegmans pricing is consistently low and does not need to be discounted and that whole idea of consistently low prices I guess just did not catch on back in 2007 in Harrisburg... but I swear that Wegmans is ALWAYS busy now. I have family that only shops there and when I go it is packed.
Last edited by rowhomecity; 05-05-2021 at 11:22 PM..
I just think it's a little overhyped. I went to the Mt. Laurel Wegmans today and was comparing products that I normally buy at Mom's or Whole Foods.
Hummus - it seems Wegmans like to stock a lot of its own hummus. But, the in house Wegmans, just like the Whole Foods or Trader Joes brand hummus has is canola oil in it. (One variety didn't but was a large tub). Canola oil really shouldn't be in hummus but all of these in store brands use low quality oils. I prefer Whole Foods and Mom's that have more selection of organic/natural products, and they try to keep products without crap in the ingredient list. (Although both for some reason carry products with Maltodextrin).
At Wegmans, I asked the clerk where I could find a. Nutritional Yeast, b. Apple Cider Vinegar and c. Lesser Evil himalayan salt popcorn. In a way it's good Wegmans carried all, but these closer to natural products were scattered and far throughout the store next to conventional/highly processed items. They also didn't have Braggs brand but had just Wegmans brand for Nutritional Yeast, although it might be the same.
Aisles 11b, 15b and 18b. I also couldn't find Ula brand tortilla that is sold in both Whole Foods and Mom's and Hillary brand burgers. The natural dry shelf selection within Wegmans is small and next to Quest sports bars.
I mean why not create a larger natural section of the store?
As for the produce, they had organic produce, but it was also pretty well separated and mixed with conventional.
It has more organic than a typical ShopRite, so I give it credit, but I also realize that it's more like a ShopRite and Whole Foods combined but without as many of the natural products that a WF has inside.
The Marlton ShopRite has a natural/organic nook in the back of the produce area, which is convenient. Items like Apple Cider Vinegar are near other natural item products.
Anyways, I kind of prefer doing my organic/natural shopping at a place like Whole Foods or Trader Joes, and conventional at ShopRite or Walmart, than deal with parking at Wegmans which is like parking at a mall during Christmas holidays, and then walking all over the store to find what I need.
Yea... I think Wegmans is nice because they offer more organic and natural products than a regular grocer like say Giant, Shop Rite or Acme... but they definitely are not going to have the same selection as Whole Foods.
Wegmans kind of has its foot in Speciality Organic but it is not fully specialized in it. Wegmans does carry certain products that are harder to find and it definitely has a larger natural foods selection than ShopRite, Acme, Giant, Etc.... but it most definitely is not a WF or Moms and I don't think it ever wanted to be that either...
I also personally really love Wegmans selection of Ethnic foods... which I think are way larger than conventional grocers. It is one of the few places I can find the famed British Sauce known as HP Sauce. Nowhere else I have ever been carries it. Amongst other favorites like Japanese Mayo and so much more...
I personally love Wegmans produce and think it is the best produce for the price of any grocer Ive been too... Whole Foods would be my second choice in terms of Produce, but that is because it costs so much more overall, and I find the quality between the two to be the same and Wegmans to be actually much larger in its offerings and especially value oriented produce offerings.
I do agree if you are picky about ingredients some of the Wegmans products can have additives just as any product does from most in store brands sans 365 from WF and nearly all national brands. Honestly next time you go to Trader Joes... check out the Frozen Food section and most of the items have several additives and are not made of natural ingredients.
Last edited by rowhomecity; 05-05-2021 at 11:09 PM..
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