wegmans

Colleen Wegman, President Industry Retail (Grocery) Revenue ?$4.8 billion (2008)[1] Employees 37,000 (2007) Website www.wegmans.com

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 79-store U.S. regional supermarket chain with stores in the mid-Atlantic region including New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Northern Virginia, and Maryland. In 2008 and 2007 Fortune ranked Wegmans the third best company to work for in the United States. 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 seven consecutive years.[2] Food Network recognized it with its award for Best Grocery Store in 2007.[3] Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Operations 3 Chase-Pitkin Home and Garden Centers 4 Wegmans brand 5 Locations 5.1 Maryland 5.2 New Jersey 5.3 New York 5.4 Pennsylvania 5.5 Virginia 6 Company facts 7 References 8 External links //

History

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 Rochester, New York. Danny Wegman is CEO; his daughter Colleen Wegman is president, and his other daughter Nicole Wegman is vice-president of restaurant operations. His late 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.[4][5]

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. They expanded outside New York state in the 1990s with stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and in the 2000s with stores in Virginia and Maryland.[6]

Operations Exterior of a typical recently opened Wegmans (Bethlehem location in Bethlehem, PA)

Most of Wegmans' newer stores are of the "superstore" or "megamarket" type, with very large area, a large variety of foods aimed at an upscale market, and in many stores, Market Cafe in-store dining areas. The company also owns and operates Tastings, a restaurant at its Pittsford, New York, store that offers diners three distinct eating areas, helping to make the Pittsford Wegmans the second largest of all, trailing only Dewitt, New York in total square footage.[citation needed]

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).[7]