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Weis Markets history
Weis Markets company history timeline
Harry and Sigmund Weis founded Weis Markets in 1912 when they opened a small neighborhood store known as Weis Pure Foods on Market Street in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.
The second Weis store opened in 1915 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Sigmund and Harry Weis first started selling private-label products in the 1920s.
The company closed several corner grocery stores in Harrisburg in 1938, replacing them with their first self-service, consolidated supermarket.
By 1965, when the company went public, the business was profitable enough to make millionaires of the Weis family.
Weis expanded to Maryland in July 1967, opening its first non-Pennsylvania store in Hagerstown, followed by a store in Frederick in August Its first store in the Wilkes-Barre area opened in 1967.
In November 1967, the company purchased the five-store Albany Public Markets chain based in Albany, New York, in an all-cash transaction.
Weis closed its Albany Public Markets chain in October 1986, leasing the nine stores to Grand Union.
Weis also expanded into northern New Jersey, beginning with a store opened in Newton in 1992.
Finally, at the end of 1993, Weis obtained 80 percent ownership of SuperPetz, a four-unit pet supply store.
But by 1993, however, sales were up by 11.8 percent for the year, due in large part to Weis' purchase of 14 IGA Food Mart stores in the Pocono mountains.
In August 1994, Weis purchased King's Supermarkets, a six-unit operator based in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, with stores in the Allentown/Lehigh Valley region.
In 1994, Weis had a record $1.55 billion in sales, an increase of eight percent over the year before.
In January 1995, Sigfried Weis retired as co-chairman due to health problems but remained as chairman emeritus until his death in June 1995.
In September 1995, Les Knox was named vice-president of merchandising, a newly created position.
In 1995, Weis introduced a direct store delivery program that was implemented chain-wide.
Under Weis ownership, the pet superstore format thrived, growing to 30 stores, with an expectation of doubling its units by 1997.
Discord in the Weis family garnered media attention in late 1999 when Janet Weis, the widow of Sigfried Weis, accused her husband's successor and cousin of neglecting shareholder value.
Her complaint gained momentum in April 2000 after a disagreement amongst the board of directors.
Instead Weis spent $400 million improving its stores in 2000 alone.
The company opened a new superstore in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania and a replacement unit in Muncy, Pennsylvania in 2002.
Blumenau, Kurt, "Weis Markets Unveils Cyber-Shopping for Specialty Items Not Found in Stores," Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, August 8, 2003.
In 2003 the company's upgraded web site allowed customers to purchase groceries that were either delivered to customers' homes or picked up later at Weis locations.
Weis Markets began offering gas at its store in Danville, Pennsylvania in 2004.
It was announced the same year that Weis would spend $90.6 million on store expansion—designing new stores based on the new store template conceived in 2004.
Weis Markets announced a $109.4 million capital expansion program in 2005.
Weis Markets begun the 10,500 square foot expansion and remodel of its White Street store in YorK in January 2006.
The company opened a 61,000 Square Foot Superstore at Potomac Marketplace In Ranson, West Virginia in March 2006.
"Weis Markets Announces $90.6 Million Capital Expenditure Program," Display & Design Ideas, April 6, 2006.
In April 2007, the company completed the expansion and extensive remodel of its Sunbury store, Pennsylvania.
In 2009, Weis expanded into the Southern Tier of New York with the acquisition of the 11-store Giant Markets chain.
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.
Weis re-entered Flanders in 2014, in a former A&P store adjacent to the location of its first Flanders store.
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 m) 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.
In late September 2019, Weis acquired two Thomas' Food Market stores, one in Dallas, Pennsylvania and another in Shavertown, Pennsylvania, reopening the Dallas location under the Weis banner and closing the Shavertown location.
Schrecengost, Lynda; Teague, Kevin "Weis Markets, Inc. ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Retrieved June 21, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/weis-markets-inc
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Weis Markets competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kroger | 1883 | $147.1B | 465,000 | 7,832 |
| Five Below | 2002 | $3.9B | 14,001 | 2,597 |
| King Kullen | 1930 | $800.0M | 4,500 | 19 |
| The Fresh Market | 1982 | $1.8B | 13,000 | - |
| Wegmans Food Markets | 1916 | $10.8B | 50,002 | 400 |
| Big Lots | 1967 | $4.7B | 22,900 | - |
| Giant Eagle | 1931 | $8.9B | 37,000 | 378 |
| Kohl's | 1962 | $16.2B | 110,000 | 1,134 |
| Bon-Ton | 1898 | $2.7B | 23,300 | 15 |
| Wakefern Food Corporation | 1946 | $17.8B | 80,000 | 21 |
Weis Markets history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Weis Markets, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Weis Markets. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Weis Markets. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Weis Markets. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Weis Markets and its employees or that of Zippia.
Weis Markets may also be known as or be related to Weis Markets, Weis Markets Inc, Weis Markets, Inc. and Weis Pure Foods (1912-1933).