Passed away yesterday at Strong Memorial. Age 87.<\/p>\n
If you’re not from the Rochester area and have never been in a Wegman’s supermarket, this Washington Post<\/em> article (registration required) provides a little background on who this guy was and what he accomplished:<\/p>\n Wegman took over as president of the 90-year-old business begun by his father and uncle in 1950 and over decades introduced private-label products and laser scanning at the checkout.<\/p>\n He was behind the “Shoppers Club” electronic discount program and Wegmans’ “Strive for 5” program offering recipes with nutritional analyses that emphasized fresh vegetables and fruits.<\/p>\n He is credited with pioneering one-stop shopping, placing bakeries, imported foods and cafes into huge stores, along with photo labs, video departments and child play centers.<\/p>\n The 70 Wegmans emporiums in five states employ more than 35,000 people and posted sales of $3.8 billion in 2005.<\/p>\n The company’s employee scholarships, high-end wages and health insurance program have landed Wegmans on Fortune magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” for nine straight years.<\/p>\n In 2005, Wegmans was ranked No. 1 on the list, leading the chairman to say, “This is the culmination of my life’s work.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n When most people think of Rochester corporations, they think of Kodak, which hasn’t exactly had a pleasant time of it over the past decade. Wegman’s, on the other hand, has flourished, growing into a local icon that rivals Kodak in many ways.<\/p>\n I mean, unless you’ve been to one of these stores this will sound totally ridiculous — but if you were to come from out of town to see me, a flagship Wegman’s is one of the tourist stops we’d visit.<\/p>\n Other bloggers’ thoughts (some of which are posted by people who had met him or worked for him) here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The man was deeply admired and even loved . . .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Passed away yesterday at Strong Memorial. Age 87. If you’re not from the Rochester area and have never been in a Wegman’s supermarket, this Washington Post article (registration required) provides a little background on who this guy was and what … Continue reading