Sunday, April 13, 2008

Proposal

Wegmans is probably the biggest name in grocery stores in the northeastern United States. It maintains several very large stores and is ranked in the top 5 best places to get a job in America today. One of the ways Wegmans manages to operate so well is its ability to keep such low prices on the goods it sells. My proposal is to find out what methods Wegmans uses to maintain such low prices and also find out how they market themselves to the public. According to the Wegmans website, a Washington Post survey ranked them number 1 for the lowest prices on national brand foods, and also their meat, produce, and nonperishable foods were 17 to 19% cheaper on average. However, the website does not explain exactly how they keep their prices so low. Does Wegmans outsource for any of their products? Are any products made in sweatshops? Or is it just sheer bulk and high quantity and variety that allows Wegmans to charge less than any other store? Also, what is their marketing strategy? Where and how does Wegmans advertise? What mediums do they use for advertising?

1 comment:

E.S. Ouellette said...

you might also consider the origin of their products to see what's local vs. what is shipped from all over. if the cost of shipping far cheaper foods doesn't outweigh keeping local, are the face prices really so low or do the foreign goods take away from the economy of the community around wegmans? i think i'm also going to try to tie my findings into that idea to since it is sort of where the group is headed.