ROCHESTER - Wegmans Food Markets Inc., a stylish grocery store chain with 72 outlets in five states, is rolling back prices on many high-turnover foods by 10 to 30 percent as the economy weakens.
The 93-year-old, family owned business credited with helping pioneer “one-stop shopping” said lower price tags appearing this week on hundreds of bakery, meat, produce, deli and other grocery items will save an average family of shoppers as much as $40 to $60 a month.
The move was triggered in part by expectations that its own costs will drop in 2009, Wegmans spokeswoman Jo Natale said Friday. “Our costs have not yet come down, but we expect that they will, so we are making the move now instead of waiting,” she said.
Heightened competition from other chains, Natale added, “was not the driving factor in making this decision by any means but it's absolutely true that we operate in a very competitive business and it's competitive in every market where we have stores.”
Grocery prices have risen this year, including those of many products now being reduced. But drops in fuel, grain and other wholesale costs in recent months is helping to lower the cost of doing business.
“I can't tell you where this brings us relative to where prices were a year ago,” Natale said. “I can only tell you that prices have gone up by different degrees depending on the product ... but the good news is they're starting to come back down.”
The company's top executives, Danny and Colleen Wegman, said in a statement that “we know our employees and customers are very concerned, and so are we. During difficult times like these, it's OK with us if we make a little less money.”
Wegmans, whose motto is “employees first, customers second,” topped Fortune's eighth annual list of the best 100 companies to work for in America in 2005 and was ranked third this year. Its 37,000 workers are paid hourly wages at the higher end of the market, resulting in an 8 percent annual turnover rate among full-time employees compared with a 14 percent rate among competitors.
Founded in 1916, Wegmans has 48 stores in New York, 12 in Pennsylvania, seven in New Jersey, four in Virginia and one in Maryland.
The move was triggered in part by expectations that its own costs will drop in 2009, Wegmans spokeswoman Jo Natale said Friday. “Our costs have not yet come down, but we expect that they will, so we are making the move now instead of waiting,” she said.
Heightened competition from other chains, Natale added, “was not the driving factor in making this decision by any means but it's absolutely true that we operate in a very competitive business and it's competitive in every market where we have stores.”
Grocery prices have risen this year, including those of many products now being reduced. But drops in fuel, grain and other wholesale costs in recent months is helping to lower the cost of doing business.
“I can't tell you where this brings us relative to where prices were a year ago,” Natale said. “I can only tell you that prices have gone up by different degrees depending on the product ... but the good news is they're starting to come back down.”
The company's top executives, Danny and Colleen Wegman, said in a statement that “we know our employees and customers are very concerned, and so are we. During difficult times like these, it's OK with us if we make a little less money.”
Wegmans, whose motto is “employees first, customers second,” topped Fortune's eighth annual list of the best 100 companies to work for in America in 2005 and was ranked third this year. Its 37,000 workers are paid hourly wages at the higher end of the market, resulting in an 8 percent annual turnover rate among full-time employees compared with a 14 percent rate among competitors.
Founded in 1916, Wegmans has 48 stores in New York, 12 in Pennsylvania, seven in New Jersey, four in Virginia and one in Maryland.
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lily39 wrote on Nov 8, 2008 10:09 AM:
Yikes wrote on Nov 8, 2008 9:20 AM:
hmmmm wrote on Nov 8, 2008 5:22 AM:
,yes walmart goes a penny less still to make a fortune off us
Wegmans is like a porterhouse steak once you have good stake you will never go back to bad steak,even there eggs are better try great value brand from walmart and then try wegmans brand and see for your self "