Weis Markets

Weis Markets, Inc.
Public
Traded as NYSE: WMK
Russell 2000 Component
Industry Retail grocery
Founded 1912 (Sunbury, Pennsylvania) by Harry and Sigmund Weis
Headquarters Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Number of locations
 205
Key people
 Jonathan Weis, chairman, president and CEO
Revenue Increase US$3,467 million (2017)[1]
Decrease US$76.4 million (2017)[1]
Increase US$98.4 million (2017)[1]
Total assets Increase US$1,441 million (2017)[1]
Total equity Increase US$992.8 million (2017)[1]
Number of employees
 23,000[1]
Website www.weismarkets.com

Weis Markets, Inc. is a Mid-Atlantic food retailer based in Sunbury, Pennsylvania,[2] It currently operates 205 stores with over 23,000 employees in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Virginia, and Delaware.[1] As of December 2017, The Weis family owns 65% of the company stock which has been listed on NYSE since 1965.

History

Map of Weis stores (as of 2011).

Weis Markets was founded as Weis Pure Foods in 1912 in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, by two brothers, Harry and Sigmund Weis.[1] Their store has been noted as "revolutionary", as it did not operate on credit—sales were only for cash. At the time, similar stores operated on credit, allowing customers to build a tab that would be paid periodically. Cash sales were a sign of a growing working class earning steady paychecks—and they also helped lower prices by up to 25%.

The second Weis store opened in 1915 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg would remain an important market for Weis, helping to anchor the central Pennsylvania region that Weis would dominate for decades.

A Weis supermarket in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania.

The Weis brothers expanded their chain rapidly, opening dozens of small, in-town grocery stores throughout central Pennsylvania. Their chain peaked at 115 stores in 15 central Pennsylvania counties by 1933. As the supermarket industry shifted to larger, self-service stores, Weis adapted the format of its stores. The company closed several corner grocery stores in Harrisburg in 1938, replacing them with their first self-service, consolidated supermarket. Over the next two decades, the company continued with this strategy, and it had consolidated all of its corner grocery stores into supermarkets, with 35 stores by 1955. In newspaper ads of the 1940s, Weis referred to its stores first as Weis Super Markets,[3] then Weis Self-Service Markets,[4] and finally Weis Markets.[5]

In the 1950s and 1960s, Weis expanded its reach, first to York and then Lancaster by 1960. Weis expanded to Maryland in July 1967, opening its first non-Pennsylvania store in Hagerstown,[6] followed by a store in Frederick in August[7] Its first store in the Wilkes-Barre area opened in 1967.[8] In November 1967, the company purchased the five-store Albany Public Markets chain based in Albany, New York, in an all-cash transaction. It operated Albany Public Markets as a subsidiary, keeping the company's management team intact.[9] Weis closed its Albany Public Markets chain in October 1986, leasing the nine stores to Grand Union.[10]

Weis also expanded to western Pennsylvania, opening stores as far west as Altoona, Everett, and Philipsburg, and expanded throughout northeastern Pennsylvania. The company purchased two regional chains in the Poconos and Lehigh Valley region: Mr. Z's, a 14-store chain of IGA supermarkets, in 1992,[11] and King's, a six-store chain based in Hamburg, in 1994.[12][13] Mr. Z's and King's were operated under separate banners for years before all stores were re-branded as Weis.

Weis's expansion into the Baltimore, Maryland market was successful, but its expansions into the Washington, D.C. market were less successful. Weis opened stores in suburban Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia before retreating from that market, first closing most of its stores in Montgomery County, Maryland, and finally closing all stores in Virginia.

Weis also expanded into northern New Jersey, beginning with a store opened in Newton in 1992.[11] A store that opened in Flanders closed in 2002, two years after its opening. Weis re-entered the Flanders market in 2014, in a former A&P store adjacent to the location of its first Flanders store.[14]

In 2009, Weis expanded into the Southern Tier of New York with the acquisition of the 11-store Giant Markets chain.[15] Weis closed one former Giant Market in Binghamton in 2012, along with two others in 2014. Eight former Giant Markets continue to operate.[16]

Eastern expansion continued in 2012 as Weis acquired three former Genuardi's stores from Safeway, in the Philadelphia suburbs of Conshohocken, Doylestown and Norristown, on June 16. A former Superfresh store in Towson, Maryland, opened as a Weis in 2012. Weis entered central New Jersey with the purchase of a former Pathmark store in Hillsborough in August 2013. In November 2013, Weis opened its closest store to Philadelphia after acquiring a former Pathmark store in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. In July 2015, Weis purchased the location and assets of Nell's Shur-fine Market from C&S Wholesale Grocers in Penn Township, York County, Pennsylvania and followed that up in October 2016 with the purchase of a second Nell's location in East Berlin, Pennsylvania.[17][18]

In May 2016, Weis Markets announced the purchase of five stores from Mars in Baltimore County, Maryland, after that chain announced it was closing all its stores.[19] In July 2016, it was announced that Weis Markets entered into a purchase agreement with Ahold and Delhaize Group for 38 Food Lion locations in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia as part of the divestiture of stores to gain clearance from the Federal Trade Commission for the impending Ahold/Delhaize merger.[20] On October 5, 2016, Weis announced the purchase of Nell's Shur-fine Market in East Berlin, PA from C&S Wholesale Grocers. The company completed the acquisition and conversion of the 44 stores in early November 2016.

On March 9, 2017, Weis Markets opened a 65,000-square-foot (6,039 m2) store in Hampden Township, Pennsylvania, that features a pub, ice cream parlor, expanded takeout food selection, a drive-thru pharmacy, and a beer cafe selling 900 varieties of beer and 500 varieties of wine.[21]

Robert and Jonathan Weis

Robert F. Weis, the son of founder Harry Weis, joined the company in 1946 after serving in the U.S. Army Air Force. Early in his career, he worked in various positions including operations, distribution, marketing, procurement, human resources, real estate and store construction. Ultimately, Weis would oversee the company’s finances, real estate and store construction while working with his cousin Sigfried Weis, who became company president after the death of Harry Weis in 1962. When Sigfried Weis retired in 1994, Robert Weis became company chairman, a position he held until the spring of 2015 when he became chairman emeritus. Weis's son Jonathan, who was CEO at the time, succeeded him as chairman. Robert Weis died on October 19, 2015.

The Weis supermarket located in Park Hills Plaza along U.S. Route 220 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, was the subject of a key 1960s United States Supreme Court case concerning the "public forum doctrine." The Court held that a union picket in the supermarket parcel pickup area and parking lot was permissible because the "shopping center here is clearly the functional equivalent to the business district" of a city.[22] At the time of the picketing, the Weis store was located in Logan Valley Mall, the Park Hills Plaza was not built until the mid 1970s, at which time Weis moved across U.S. Route 220 to its current location.

Banners

In addition to the Weis Markets banner, the company once operated supermarkets under the King's and Mr. Z's banners. Those two banners were centered primarily in the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos, respectively, and were acquired in mid-1990s acquisitions. Since their acquisitions, these stores have been remodeled or replaced. In 2009, they were rebranded to the Weis banner, as was its Cressler's store in Shippensburg. In 2011, it converted its three Scot's Lo-Cost stores, located in Montoursville, Mill Hall and Coal Township, to the Weis banner.

Weis operates some stores as Save-a-Lot under license from SuperValu. At one time, the company operated a few stores as Big-Top Market, but as of 2006, no more stores exist under this banner.

Competition

Weis faces significant competition from various food retail formats, including conventional retailers, mass merchant retailers, discount retailers, drug stores, convenience stores, Walmart and dollar stores. Weis's chief competition comes in its traditional home base of central Pennsylvania. Giant (Carlisle), a supermarket chain owned by Ahold, began aggressive expansion during the 1990s, building large stores with expanded selections. Giant has remained the market leader throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania.

Weis also faces tough competition in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, from Stauffer's of Kissel Hill.

In Maryland, Weis competes with Walmart, Acme, Giant Eagle, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Safeway, ShopRite and Giant (Landover).

In New Jersey, Weis's chief competition includes ShopRite, Stop & Shop and Acme.

In New York, Weis's competition includes Price Chopper and Wegmans.

In 2011, it sold or closed its remaining Superpetz units, a move that is expected to enhance the company's overall profitability.

Private brand labels

Weis Markets sells a variety of house brands under the following private brand labels:

  • Weis Quality (Advertised as equivalent to national brands)
  • Weis Organic (Organic Fruits and Vegetables)
  • Weis Signature (Premium)
  • Market Street (Deli Meat)
  • ValuTime (Discount brand guaranteed to be cheapest in the area)
  • Paws Premium (Dog food)
  • TopCare (Health and Beauty Care Products)
  • Full Circle (Fair-Trade Certified food)
  • Weis 360 (Organic staples such as oatmeal and bread)

Corporate officers

  • Jonathan Weis – chairman, president and chief executive officer
  • Kurt Schertle, chief operating officer
  • Scott Frost – senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer
  • David Gose, senior vice president of operations
  • Richard Gunn, senior vice president of merchandising and marketing
  • Jim Marcil – senior vice president of human resources
  • Harold Graber – senior vice president for real estate and development
  • Wayne Bailey, senior vice president of supply chain and logistics
  • John Grimes - vice president of meat, deli and seafood
  • Ron Bonacci, vice president of marketing and advertising
  • R. Gregory Zeh, Jr., vice president, chief information officer
  • R. Kevin Small, vice president of construction and development
  • Joe Kleman – vice president of distribution
  • James Daly, regional vice president
  • Brent Mertes, regional vice president
  • Wendy Oliver, regional vice president
  • Jen Rogers, vice president and corporate controller
  • Rick Seipp, vice president of pharmacy
  • John Neuberger, vice president of operational administration
  • Bob Cline, vice president of talent development and associate relations
  • Will England, vice president of asset protection

Beer sales

Weis Markets is one of the supermarkets in Pennsylvania able to sell beer and wine in in-store cafés at some of its locations. In Pennsylvania, grocery stores cannot sell beer unless they operate a café. Weis Markets sells beer and wine at 56 Pennsylvania locations. In June 2016, PA Governor Tom Wolf signed Act 39 law permitting the sale of wine in licensed supermarket beer cafes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Weis Markets, Inc, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Mar 15, 2018". secdatabase.com. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Contact Us." (Archive) Weis Markets. Retrieved on August 26, 2016. "1000 South Second Street PO Box 471 Sunbury, Pennsylvania 17801"
  3. ↑ Advertisement, Harrisburg Telegraph, 6 March 1941
  4. ↑ Advertisement, Harrisburg Telegraph, 22 August 1946
  5. ↑ Advertisement, The Express (Lock Haven, Pennsylvania), 9 December 1949
  6. ↑ "Weis Markets Sales, Earnings Show Increases," The News (Frederick, Maryland), 18 Jul 1967
  7. ↑ "Weis Markets Opens 2d Store in Maryland," Pottstown Mercury, 23 Aug 1967.
  8. ↑ "To Build Market," The News (Frederick, Maryland), 24 Oct 1967)
  9. ↑ "Weis Buys N.Y. Chain," The Express (Lock Haven, Pennsylvania), 8 Nov 1967)
  10. ↑ "Schenectady Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Weis Markets to Buy IGA Stores," Standard-Speaker (Hazleton, Pennsylvania), 28 November 1992
  12. ↑ "Weis Markets Inc. to Buy King's Supermarkets," Gettysburg Times, 29 June 1994
  13. ↑ "Weis Buys King's Six Markets". Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "Weis market work to begin in Mount Olive". Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  15. ↑ Laepple, Wayne. "Weis Markets buys 11 stores". www.dailyitem.com. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  16. ↑ Joseph, Bob. "Closing Time For Two Broome Weis Markets Stores". www.wnbf.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  17. ↑ Jurgensen, Davin (July 29, 2015). "Weis Markets purchasing Nell's Shur-fine Market". York Daily Record. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  18. ↑ Sholtis, Brett (October 19, 2015). "Weis to buy Nell's Family Market in East Berlin". York Daily Record. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  19. ↑ Mirabella, Lorraine (May 26, 2016). "Mars Super Markets closed all stores on July 31". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Ahold and Delhaize Group reach agreements with buyers to divest 86 U.S. stores, subject to FTC merger clearance". Food Lion. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  21. ↑ Gleiter, Sue (March 3, 2017). "Here's a sneak peek of the new Weis Markets store opening in Cumberland County". PennLive.com. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  22. ↑ Amalgamated Food Employees Union v. Logan Valley Plaza, Inc., 391 U.S. 308 (1968).
  • DeKok, David. "The Weis Dynasty." The Patriot-News, February 20, 1994.
  • Southall, Brook. "Old-Line Weis Plans Basket of Changes." Central Penn Business Journal, June 14, 1996.
  • Weis Markets Annual Report, 1967
  • Weis Markets Web Site
  • Weis Markets' recent SEC filings, annual reports and public announcements. Weis Markets PR also updates corporate roster, private brand labels and store counts etc. It discloses its contributions and does not edit content. It adheres to Wikipedia's guidelines re: corporate PR/Communications contributions.
  • More information about Weis Markets digital signage.
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