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Remember Wegmans only seems high end to us. Its a great store but so is Publix and H.E.B. and Super Value has a higher end chain also. Plus the Left Coast have some too I am sure.
I think Whole Foods would do well in Armory Square and even entice people to live there... centrally located and in an aesthetically-pleasing area. "If you build it, they will come..." and so on. They have quite a cult following, much like Wegman's.
Whole Foods would never come to upstate NY. All Whole Foods stores are in very upscale locations and surround (many, many) wealthy people. I would say that the area has a slightly better shot at a TJ's, but that is also unlikely. Again, TJ's is a store that is typically reserved for upper-class areas.
Income levels are not the only determining factor on where a retailer like Whole Foods or TJ's locate. Educational attainment including the percentage of people with a Bachelor's degree and higher is also a determinant. On both counts, I would agree most of upstate New York would not fit the requirements for both retailers. That being said, the Mid Hudson Valley would also never see a Whole Foods or TJ's based on average household income, below average educational attainment (less than 30% of residents in Orange County possess a college degree) and the high concentration of aspirational blue collar small business owners and cops that comprise a large portion of the population. While these individuals may save up their pennies to lease a knock-off 3 series, C-Class, A4 they don't possess high-end tastes for gourmet and natural foods. Just because someone has a moderate to high household income doesn't mean they fit the demographics of a Whole Foods or TJ's customer. This is especially true in places like Orange and Dutchess County that have many residents who are NYC firefighters and cops that have $200,000 + incomes with overtime as well as worker bees that have middle management jobs in Manhattan or White Plains. Neither group fits the demographic profile of a Whole Foods or TJ shopper.
Similarly, there are few areas of legitimate wealth in Dutchess and Orange County. While Spackenkill and Tuxedo Park have some old money, neither area would be defined as "high class" by those residing in true affluent communities like parts of Westchester, Bergen, and Fairfield counties. Several developments of 4,000+ SF homes in East Fishkill, LaGrange, and Warwick don't cut it nor do weekend homes in Millbrook and Rhinebeck owned by absentee Manhattanties.
Remember Wegmans only seems high end to us. Its a great store but so is Publix and H.E.B. and Super Value has a higher end chain also. Plus the Left Coast have some too I am sure.
I'm sure, but trust me, there has actually been a demand for Wegmans in other states and they have been going down the East Coast into VA, NJ and PA. So, it is gaining some steam outside of Upstate NY. This doesn't hurt either(look at the bottom): http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/st...=CATEGORY_1381
It's no big deal, but to be honest, do we really need a WF or Trader Joe's when there are quite a few Wegmans in the area? If we did get one, the Eastern suburbs would probably be the likely location.
Rochester is where Wegmans is based out of. So, I doubt that they would want one since there arw Wegmans all over the place there. Buffalo has their share of Wegmans and Tops is based out of there. So, that could impede either of those 2 from setting up there.
The DeWitt Wegman's has consistently been the highest grossing store in the entire chain, which includes stores in Pittsford and affluent areas like Princeton, NJ, Fairfax County, VA and Montgomery County, MD. Although stores in those markets also compete against Whole Foods, the DeWitt Wegman's is about as close to a flagship store as one can get and carries many of the foods you would find at Whole Foods. Syracuse is also one of the most competitve markets for groceries in the country and is served by three major grocers, while Albany, Rochester and Buffalo are dominated by two. Given that this is a very low margin business and there are numerous other grocery stores in the eastern suburbs, the high revenue generating performance of the DeWitt store indicates that there is wealth in that area. Although the demographics of the surrounding area would be compatable with Whole Foods, the concentration of wealth is probably not dense enough and the well-heeled customers that currently shop at the DeWitt Wegman's have a great deal of loyalty toward the store, which could hurt the longterm prospects of another upscale chain.
As to the suggestion that Buffalo would be more likely to get a Whole Foods than Syracuse is laughable. Although Greater Buffalo is twice the size of Metro Syracuse, the suburbs of Clarence and East Amherst only make up a small portion of the larger area and the median household income and the proportion of households making above $250,000 is actually lower in Erie County than Onondaga County according to 2009 Census estimates. If Whole Foods were to open a store in upstate New York the two frontrunners would be the Rochester suburb of Pittsford and the Loudonville-Slingerlands-Delmar area near Albany.
Last edited by RollsRoyce; 05-27-2011 at 07:32 AM..
Trust me that Wegmans is in my field of interest and I'd work there if I needed a job and didn't hate NY.
I love them. I may even be there today. I'm just pointing out that most people have never heard of them. Even in NY roughly 75% of the people have never seen one.
They aren't gonna have any luck farther South either. Publix has 1100 stores and they are EVERYWERE!!!! From my Dads place I bet I could walk to 6 of them.
The DeWitt Wegman's has consistently been the highest grossing store in the entire chain, which includes stores in Pittsford and affluent areas like Princeton, NJ, Fairfax County, VA and Montgomery County, MD. Although store in those markets also compete against Whole Foods, the DeWitt Wegman's is about as close to a flagship store as one can get and carries many of the foods you would find at Whole Foods. Although the demographics of the surrounding area would be compatable with Whole Foods, the concentration of wealth is probably not dense enough and the well-heeled customers that currently shop at Wegman's have a great deal of loyalty toward the DeWitt store, which could hurt the longterm prospects of another chain.
Great point and people forget that there are Wegmans in affluent areas already, in and out of the state. I can see what you mean by the loyalty factor too.
Lyndon is a part of the most affluent census tract in the county, if I'm not mistaken. So, if they really wanted either of those stores, I'd think they would get it, if they wanted it. That Wegmans might be one of the biggest grocery stores in the country too.
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