Wawa (company)
Gas station | |
Founded | April 16, 1964 |
---|---|
Founder | Grahame Wood |
Headquarters | , United States[1] |
Number of locations | 1,032 (2023)[2] |
Area served | Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C. Planned: Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee Former: New York and Connecticut |
Key people | Chris Gheysens (CEO)[3] |
Products |
|
Revenue | US$13 billion (2020)[4] |
US$118 million (2011)[5] | |
Total assets | US$1.57 billion (2011)[5] |
Number of employees | 37,000 (2020)[4] |
Website | www |
Wawa, Inc. (
As of 2008[update], Wawa was the largest convenience store chain in the
History
The Wawa business began in 1803 as an iron
In the 1960s, however, many consumers began buying milk in stores instead of using home delivery. Wawa started to open its own stores to adjust to these market changes.[6][9] On April 16, 1964, Grahame Wood, George Wood's grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market at 1212 MacDade Boulevard in Folsom, Pennsylvania,[10] which remained in operation until June 17, 2016, when it closed in favor of a new "Super Wawa" down the street. A parade was held from the original location to the new store on opening day.[8][11][12]
The Wawa Food Market stores were also part of a then-new trend in retailing, the convenience store. Open both earlier and later than traditional supermarkets, they carried other foods and beverages besides milk, as well as other items from the Wawa dairy.
In 1977, Wawa began sharing ownership of the company with its associates through
Company
Name and logo
The
Leadership
The current CEO of Wawa is Chris Gheysens, who succeeded Howard Stoeckel in January 2013.[3][14] Eleuthère (Thère) du Pont has served as both the CFO and president, but is no longer associated with the company. Richard "Dick" Wood Jr. is chairman of the board of directors.[15] Many Wood family members are active in the company. Although Wawa is a family-run business, Wawa associates own roughly 50% of the company, more than 40% of which is owned through the company's employee stock-ownership program.[16]
Holdings and locations
In 2015, Wawa ranked 34th on the
As of 1989[update] Wawa Inc. and the Wood family together control about 725 acres (293 ha) of land, containing the corporate headquarters, the Wawa dairy farm, and J.T. Farms, within two municipalities in
Beginning in the 1940s, the dairy facility began selling excess parcels of land. In 1964, it sold about 40 acres to the
Wawa Inc. owns the 225-acre J.T. Farms, a separate farm property. As of 1989[update] Wawa Inc. leases it to Bill Faul, who maintained a herd of 100 Holstein cattle and paid $1,500 (currently $2778.12) per month. Wawa continued to own the farm due to symbolic reasons. It also kept
Corporate headquarters
The company's corporate headquarters is located in the Wawa area, along Baltimore Pike[21][22] in Chester Heights.[23][24] The headquarters is in proximity to Middletown Township.[25] As of 2011[update] about 300 employees work in the headquarters. The Borough of Chester Heights receives a majority of its local services tax from employees of Wawa.[23]
Programs and promotions
Wawa provides surcharge-free ATMs, the result of a partnership with
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 some stores on the Pennsylvania Main Line, allowing the students to study for their MBAs from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.[27]
In 1994, Wawa opened a store in Center City, Philadelphia, which sold food only.[28]
In 1994, Wawa debuted the "Super Wawa", larger stores with public restrooms and more parking. Gasoline pumps were added in 1996.[29][10] On October 21, 2010, Wawa began testing the sale of diesel fuel at 12 of its New Jersey locations due to an increasing number of cars using this fuel.[30]
In the 2000s, Wawa was among the first stores to implement
In 2003, Wawa and
In 2005, Wawa partnered with JPMorgan Chase to offer a Visa credit card branded with the Wawa name. It ceased issuing new cards in December 2007 and the program was canceled in November 2010.[34] Wawa would later partner with Citi to restart the Wawa credit card program.[35]
Wawa moved into social media to connect with its customers, and in 2006, its "I Love Wawa" MySpace page had over 5,000 members. By the middle of 2013, its Facebook page had reached nearly 1.1 million likes.[36]
On June 30, 2010, 20 Wawa locations in Pennsylvania started a trial of selling Pennsylvania Lottery tickets from automated kiosks. On December 6, 2010, it announced that all 210 Pennsylvania Wawa locations would sell lottery tickets from kiosks by spring 2011.[37][38]
On April 16, 2014, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, Wawa gave away free coffee and launched a nonprofit foundation to donate $50 million to health and hunger initiatives.[39]
Products
Wawa offers products found at most convenience chain marts such as chips, drinks, and soda. Wawa also sells its own branded iced tea, orange juice, and milk. Wawa used to sell its own branded soda but it has been discontinued. Wawa has Coca-Cola Freestyle soda fountains.
Key products include its variety of coffee, latte, and cappuccino flavors and sizes, and made-to-order
For a short time between 1994 and 1996, Wawa sold Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas and Taco Bell burritos.[28] In 2014, Wawa began selling a 7.5-inch deep-dish pizza on focaccia bread available in five varieties; this was later discontinued.[43][44]
In 2020, Wawa tested burgers, waffle fries, and chicken sandwiches at six locations.[45] Later in the same year, Wawa begin testing a dinner menu at select locations. The dinner menu includes items such as burgers, fries, pasta, and rotisserie chicken.[46]
In 2022, Philadelphia magazine ranked the Gobbler, Wawa's seasonal Thanksgiving-themed hoagie, as their best sandwich among 15 taste-tested.[47][48]
In 2023, Wawa began selling pizza during dinner hours at select locations, with plans to expand pizza to all locations. The pizza comes in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes in either plain or with an assortment of toppings.[44]
Store locations
Wawa operates stores in
On July 18, 2012, Wawa entered the Florida market when it opened its first location in Orlando.[52] It had expanded to more than 70 Florida locations by the end of 2015, with plans for 120 more by 2022.[53]
As of October 2020[update], Wawa has over 900 locations across Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Florida.[54]
In some Jersey Shore towns, Wawa designs its stores to match the aesthetic, and changes operating procedures to adapt to shore culture. In Cape May, Wawa has a Victorian-themed store. In Wildwood, there is a 1950s-themed store.[55] Additionally, its Princeton University/Princeton train station store went viral on TikTok in 2023 for its "aesthetically pleasing" minimalist design.[56]
Wawa opened its largest location at the time in the Farragut Square area of Washington, D.C. on December 14, 2017.[57] On December 14, 2018, Wawa opened a flagship location at 6th Street and Chestnut Street in Center City, Philadelphia. The store, at 11,500 square feet (1,070 m2), is the largest Wawa location and features a living greenery wall, large digital screens, couches, café seating, and two "Philly Firsts" murals.[58]
On December 18, 2020, Wawa opened its first drive-thru at a convenience store/gas station location in Westampton, New Jersey.[59] In September 2020, Wawa began construction on its first drive-thru only location in Falls Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania; this location opened on January 8, 2021.[59][60]
In 2022, Wawa announced their intentions to expand to
In 2023, the first Ohio location was approved and will be located in Liberty Township, near Cincinnati, and the first Indiana location will be in Noblesville.[67] In 2023, it was announced that up to 40 Kentucky locations would be opened.[68]
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An older Wawa in Sewell, New Jersey
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A retro-styled Wawa in Wildwood, New Jersey
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A Wawa in Orlando, Florida on opening day
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The largest Wawa store, at 6th Street and Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
-
Location in thedowntown Washington, D.C.
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Wawa Food Market in Williamsburg, Virginia across from College of William & Mary. This was the first location built on the Virginia Peninsula.[69]
Competitors
Wawa, for the most part, covers parts of Pennsylvania not already served by rival stores such as Sheetz, which Wawa is often compared to due to their similar business models and Pennsylvania roots. This led to a "rivalry" between the two chains among Pennsylvanians, though the two companies themselves have a friendly relationship.[70] The character of the two chains has been described as, "Sheetz is typically louder and flashier, with a more intense vibe than Wawa's unassuming, plain and simple appearance. ... But while Sheetz may seem like it has more options, Wawa reminds us that no matter how you are dressed, you are welcome there."[71] Despite the rivalry, the two stores generally do not compete head-to-head in Pennsylvania, with only a few small overlapping areas in the eastern part of the state served by both chains.[72][73] In Virginia, both chains share a market in the Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Northern Virginia regions. Wawa's planned expansion into South Central Pennsylvania as well as North Carolina will see more head-to-head competition from both chains,[64] enough where Sheetz subsequently announced more store locations in Western Pennsylvania (where GetGo, 7-Eleven/Speedway, and locally based Coen Markets are major competitors as well a Circle K to a lesser extent) to fend off a potential expansion of Wawa into the Pittsburgh market.[74]
Data breach
On December 20, 2019, Wawa's CEO Chris Gheysens announced that the company had found malicious software on its payment processing servers that affected every location across the country, according to the statement.[75] The malware is believed to have been on the servers since as early as March 4, 2019, and contained on December 12, 2019.[76] It affected approximately 34 million cards.[77]
On December 27, 2019, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that at least six lawsuits seeking class-action status had been filed against the company in federal court in Philadelphia.[78]
On July 26, 2022, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced an $8 million agreement with Wawa to resolve the data breach.[77]
Popularity
Wawa enjoys a level of popularity in the
Controversies
Wawa's expansion efforts have sometimes met with controversy from local communities. In Coral Gables, Florida, land which was planned to be used for affordable housing was instead approved as a new site for a Wawa gas station.[81]
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Further reading
- Bendapudi, Neeli; Bendapudi, Venkat (2005). "Creating the Living Brand". PMID 15929408. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
- Steinberg, Don (2011). "It's a Wawa World". Metrocorp. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
- Stoeckel, Howard; OCLC 852733340.
- Thompson, Maria; Price, Donald H. (2004). Wawa. OCLC 57201883.