Wawa (company)

Wawa, Inc.

File:WAWAnewlogo.png
Company type	Private, owned by Wild Goose Holding Co.
Industry	Convenience store
Founded	1964
Founder	Grahame Wood
Headquarters	Wawa, Pennsylvania , USA
Key people	Howard Stoeckel, CEO
Products	Hoagies, Coffee, Sizzli, Gasoline, Iced Tea, Milk, Stuffed Pretzels
Revenue	US$ 4.5 billion (2007)
Number of employees	16,000
Website	Wawa.com

Wawa is a chain of convenience store/gas stations located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is often associated with the Philadelphia area and the Delaware Valley, but the stores are also common throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

History

In the early 1800s Richard D. Wood ran a store in Greenwich, New Jersey selling items from his farming. It was 1803 when David Wood became a part owner of a furnace that sold stove plates through the firm of Smith and Wood. About a century later George Wood moved to Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is here that he started to operate the Wawa Dairy Farm. When the 1920s hit the demand for dairy products grew rapidly and so did the company. Wawa Dairy Farms later used the slogan "Buy Health by the Bottle" and with that the farm was reaching customers in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. However, in the 1960s demand for home delivery of milk products had dropped leading to the development of the Wawa Food Market.

Company

On April 16, 1964, Wawa Food Markets opened their first store in Folsom, Pennsylvania under the guidance of Grahame Wood. This location is still open today. Many Wood family members are still active within the company. Although Wawa is a family-run business, the employees of Wawa also hold a relatively large percentage of stock. Most Wawas are open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The chain's name comes from the site of the company's first milk plant and corporate headquarters in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The name of the town is in turn derived from the Ojibwe word for the Canada Goose (taken from "The Song of Hiawatha"). An image of a goose in flight serves as the Wawa corporate logo.

A Wawa in Sewell, New Jersey.

Wawa sells over 195 million cups of coffee a year. The Wawa deli counter was among the first convenience stores to implement self-serve computer touch-screen menus for food orders, in an attempt to improve accuracy. It can potentially be used as gateways to up-selling, as well.

The current president and CEO of Wawa is Howard Stoeckel. Eleuthère (Thère) du Pont has served as both the CFO and president, but is no longer associated with the company. Richard D. (Dick) Wood, Jr. is chairman of the board of directors.

In 2001, Wawa expanded into the state of Virginia.

In 2006, Wawa ranked 63rd on the Forbes Magazine list of the largest private companies but dropped to 64th on the 2007 list. Wawa currently has 16,000 employees, 570 stores (210 offering gasoline) and had total revenues of $4.67 billion dollars in 2007. In recent years, many Wawa Markets have been expanded to "Super Wawas," with 12-20 gas pumps, and all new Wawas constructed are of the "Super Wawa" variety (though not all feature gas stations). Wawa, for the most part, covers the parts of Pennsylvania not already covered by fast-growing in-state rivals Sheetz and Turkey Hill Mini Marts.

A typical Wawa gas station in Horsham, Pennsylvania.

In the late 1980s and through the 1990s, Wawa engaged in a scholarship sponsorship program that involved Irish students (mainly from UCC in Cork, Ireland) running a considerable number of stores on the Pennsylvania Main Line. This was a successful program that allowed the students to study for their MBA's from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, while facilitating the feasibility of these stores located in these affluent neighborhoods where it was difficult to get local labor. Many colleges have Wawas on campus.

Wawa is headquartered in Wawa, Pennsylvania, a neighborhood that includes parts of Middletown Township and Chester Heights Borough in Delaware County. The corporate headquarters, known as Red Roof, is on Baltimore Pike in Chester Heights. The nearby dairy farm, across from the former Franklin Mint is in Middletown.

Wawa has recently partnered with JPMorgan Chase to offer a credit card branded with the Wawa name.

In the spring of 2007, Wawa began offering its own line of soda in its stores.

Wawa Dairy Farms

Wawa Dairy is a dairy processor that produces its own line of milk, ice cream, iced teas, juices, and fruit drinks. In Wawa, Pennsylvania George Wood started Wawa Dairy Farms in 1902 with a small herd of cows and a processing plant processing and bottling plant in Wawa, Pennsylvania. This early dairy operation was famous for its "Doctor Approved" pasteurized milk. In the early 20th century, Wawa's milkmen were so well trusted by their clients that many of them were given the keys to the households that they delivered to, so that they could simply let themselves in and place the milk in the ice box. In the summer of 2002, Wawa Dairy celebrated its 100th anniversary by having a week-long "thirst aid tour" where it delivered over 100,000 cold beverages to those who needed them the most. Wawa partnered with local food banks in an attempt to raise awareness of the ongoing need for support.

Products

Wawa offers products found at most convenience chain marts such as chips, drinks, soda. Wawa also make their own branded water, which can be found at any Wawa. Key products include its variety of coffee and cappuccino flavors and sizes, and its made-to-order hoagies. Wawa also offers a brand of hot breakfast products, most famous of which is the "Sizzli". Wawa sells a variety of brand-name cold beverages and offers similar alternatives such as the Red Bull alternative, "Mach W". Wawa also offers a full deli with touch-screen ordering of sandwiches, hot sides, and deli meats. Some Wawa stores offer gasoline, especially Super Wawas which are also bigger.

Advertising slogans

• 1970s: "Fast, fresh shopping night and day."
• 1972: "People on the go — go to Wawa Food Markets"
• 1980s: "Just a little bit better: Wawa."
• 1990s: "One great taste after another." "Mornin, Noon And Nite, Wawa Does It Right"
• Late 1990s: "Go to Wawa when you're hot, hot, hot."
• 2002-2005: "My choice. My Wawa."
• 2005-Present: "gottahava Wawa."

Store locations by state

• New Jersey: 225
• Pennsylvania: 226
• Delaware/Maryland/Virginia: 130
• Total: 581 stores as of 12/2008.

Note: Wawa's territory once stretched into North Jersey, New York and Connecticut, but in the late 1990s, the decision was made to abandon most of the New York metropolitan area and New England, as it was too competitive, though the company still operates numerous stores in the central and south New Jersey area. The abandoned stores were re-branded when they were sold to Krauszer's (in Connecticut) and a variety of other convenience retailers, but most still retain their distinctive design.

Competition

Wawa competes with many other convenience store chains like itself. In Pennsylvania, Wawa competes with Sheetz, Turkey Hill, and Rutter's. In New Jersey, Wawa competes with QuickChek. In Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, Wawa competes with Royal Farms.

External links

• Wawa's official site
• Dairy 100th Exhibit