Weis?

[SamSpade]

"Wise" markets -
Y'all haven't really talked about them in the 3 years listed here on the first page of the forum for Mid-Atlantic.

I have recently been involved with a media market in Virginia. They seem to run some pretty good ad copy, but I have no idea if the stores are any good/competitive/etc. Interestingly, no ads for Wegmans, Giant, ALDI, Lidl, or Publix.

[mjhale]

Weis seems to do well in rural areas and in suburban areas where there is not a lot of competition. Weis tried to get into the DC market in the late 1980s but got blasted by Giant-MD who was firing on all cylinders at that point. More recently, Weis purchased a bunch of Food Lion stores in MD, DE and VA that were cast offs from the Ahold-Delhaize merger. This expansion seems to have done much better for Weis. They have closed a few of those stores here and there but the majority are still open. Weis has modernized itself over the years which has made their stores more competitive in suburban markets. I was surprised that Weis has been in a few areas around Baltimore as well as Frederick and Hagerstown since the late 60s/early 70s. The modern stores that Weis has in these areas are just as nice as something from Safeway or Giant-MD. I don't think people without knowledge of Weis' lineage would think those stores are from a chain with their HQ in semi-rural Sunbury, PA.

[storewanderer]

They're not a bad operator... but they're nothing to get excited about. Some of their older stores are very dated back to like the early 90's. Their larger stores are nice and modern but don't seem to do the volumes they should. Their service has always been friendly and stores staffed properly but volumes seem rather low.

They've kept up on having things like self checkout at larger stores.

Their perimeter quality and pricing is acceptable. Not really great..Their private label program is pretty good.

This always seemed like a good match for Kroger to me. I think the Kroger private label and promotion program would really enhance basket size at Weis.

Better match for Kroger than Acme and DC Safeway for sure.

[mbz321]

They're not a bad operator... but they're nothing to get excited about. Some of their older stores are very dated back to like the early 90's.

I don't think there are too many of these left......Weis has been actively remodeling and relocating stores over the last several years.

In my area (Warminster, PA), a new Weis opened last summer in a former Kmart and they took up the entire building. It's a beautiful store, but feels a lot larger than necessary. It also lacks a Pharmacy. Weis has closed several Pharmacies over the years, but I think it would have made sense to include one in this store as it isn't surrounded by any others and it is in a mostly residential area with multiple senior complexes nearby. They certainly had the space for one. I don't think pricing is as strong as Giant (or a nearby ShopRite it competes with) and while the store seems to get steady business, it doesn't really seem as busy as it should be.

[storewanderer]

They're not a bad operator... but they're nothing to get excited about. Some of their older stores are very dated back to like the early 90's.

I don't think there are too many of these left......Weis has been actively remodeling and relocating stores over the last several years.

In my area (Warminster, PA), a new Weis opened last summer in a former Kmart and they took up the entire building. It's a beautiful store, but feels a lot larger than necessary. It also lacks a Pharmacy. Weis has closed several Pharmacies over the years, but I think it would have made sense to include one in this store as it isn't surrounded by any others and it is in a mostly residential area with multiple senior complexes nearby. They certainly had the space for one. I don't think pricing is as strong as Giant (or a nearby ShopRite it competes with) and while the store seems to get steady business, it doesn't really seem as busy as it should be.

Did Kmart have a pharmacy in that store? I wonder if there is some kind of a lease restriction due to whoever Kmart sold its pharmacy to.

Also recall they do some small acquisitions every now and then. They got a few stores from that lousy Mars chain around Baltimore when it went out of business. Those were some miserable outdated stores.

[mbz321]

Did Kmart have a pharmacy in that store? I wonder if there is some kind of a lease restriction due to whoever Kmart sold its pharmacy to.

They did, but the store closed way back in 2012 and sat vacant until 2022. Weis actually owns the whole property now, (including an adjoining mini strip center which lost all the tenants after Kmart closed. So far only one space looks to be leased out to a soon to open restaurant), so definitely not a restriction thing, it just seems like they are trying to quietly exit that part of the business.

[storewanderer]

Also I guess Weis could be a potential buyer for some Safeway divests in this Kroger merger.

I don't see Harris Teeter units being a good fit for Weis.

[mjhale]

A modern Weis store is along the lines of Giant-MD or Safeway. In that sense I do agree that Weis might be a candidate to pick up some Safeway stores if the merger goes through and Harris Teeter is the surviving entity in the DC area. If Weis is interested in more growth in the DC market, cast off stores from the merger would shore up MD and get them back into Northern Virginia. I also agree that Weis does best with an average sized store (40,000 or so sq feet?). Larger than that they seem to struggle to fill the store with merchandise. Not to say they have stock issues but huge stores for them seem to have lots of open floor space between the various displays and aisles. Weis did pick up a couple of stores in the Philly areas after Genuardi's closed. They initially left them with the Safeway Lifestyle interior and remodeled them after a few years. Albertsons has done decor swaps and some light remodeling on many of the stores in the DC area. Weis wouldn't have to do much to get going if they were to pick up some of those stores.