Shopping Choices

[AArdvark]

One of the things I've noticed in the last, oh ten years or so, is how Wegman's is starting to limit their brand choices on their supermarket shelves. These days it's either Wegman's brand items or one other national brand and that's it. They've been doing it slowly, like maybe we, the consumers wouldn't notice. There were several brands of products that I like and would continue to buy but they no longer offer them except in their own store brand. I can go to WalMart and buy these things (and have started doing so) but Wegman's is a hometown store, not a national chain. Actually, Weggies is 'regional', they have stores in Maine and D.C.

I see them driving people like me away in the name of profit greed. That makes me feel less happy about Wegman's and I don't want to feel like that so I will post about it here so you can all make sport of me.


THE
SHOP TILL
YOU DROP
AARDVARK

[uruzrune]

I have a Wegmans about a half hour away from me, and I would go more often if it weren't a shlep.

[Billy Mays]

I can go to WalMart and buy these things...

Walmart contacts those popular brands and "asks" them to stop distributing to Wegman's. Nobody tells Walmart "no". It's more complicated than that but that's the gist of what's happening. Wegman's can't acquire those brands or they become so unreliable to acquire that they just stop carrying them altogether. They are a smaller regional chain and Walmart has a bazillion locations worldwide and an online presence.

Retail in general is completely cutthroat and the grocery industry is the most cutthroat of them all. Everybody in the world needs to eat several times a day so they've got you by the balls. You go into these stores and everything is set up to make you a happy consumer but behind the scenes these corporations are hiring absolute killers to do their bidding.

[AArdvark]

Huh, is that really a thing?

[Billy Mays]

Another more likely explanation is that Wegman's needs to focus on their store brands in order to stay competitive with Walmart.

[uruzrune]

Wegman's

Fucking stop.

[Billy Mays]

Well if you were to look at some of their original locations you would know that they all had an apostrophe in the name.

[Tdarcos]

I see them driving people like me away in the name of profit greed. That makes me feel less happy about Wegman's and I don't want to feel like that so I will post about it here so you can all make sport of me.

So the thing to do is complain to the store manager. Ask if they have a complaint card you can mail in; typically they have them; these are post-paid BRM postcards that go to headquarters so it costs you nothing to complain. And no, they are not merely "lip service"; companies that put these out do read them, and often respond (numbers indicate, for every one customer sending in a card, there are hundreds or thousands who are dissatisfied in the same way who either suffer but have a bit of a bad feeling towards the company, or simply say nothing and shop elsewhere).

Yes, it is to save money, but in a way it's to respond to perceived customer demand. A lot of people like "choice" which is why there are 80 different types and brands of soft drinks in the soft-drink aisle, but they don't like too much choice, which is why there might be only 5 kinds of cola (Coke, Pepsi, RC, maybe a regional brand and the store brand). You - as a store manager - try to carry what customers will buy to the extent the product sells, which is why you can find Sprite, 7Up, Mtn. Dew, maybe Mellow Yellow, and black cherry, but weakly selling products like boysenberry or blueberry soda aren't there. If you have too much choice the customer can get lost or confused, and people say this. The hard part is knowing how much change is good and how much is "more than the customer wants."

Get a complaint card, fill it out and mail it in. They do read them, and good chains know that keeping their ear to the ground allows them to do a better job. Their profit margin is typically 1c on the dollar, so they try to keep costs down while still carrying what (they think) customers want.

[Tdarcos]

I can go to WalMart and buy these things...

Walmart contacts those popular brands and "asks" them to stop distributing to Wegman's. Nobody tells Walmart "no". It's more complicated than that but that's the gist of what's happening.

Can you prove that? This would be a clear violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, (and even some similar state laws) which is punishable by serious fines and even Federal felony criminal penalties, plus anyone aggrieved - any competitor, as well as any company asked to refuse to sell to a competitor of Walmart who lost business because they would not agree to conspire to cut off a competitor of Wal-Mart - can sue for treble (triple) damages, which can mean millions, plus attorneys fees. Any antitrust legal firm would love this sort of case, the attorneys fees awarded would be huge, additional millions. And no company asked to do this is going to roll over and take a bullet as the multi-million dollar defendant in an "unlawful restraint of trade" case just to protect Wal-Mart.

You go into these stores and everything is set up to make you a happy consumer but behind the scenes these corporations are hiring absolute killers to do their bidding.

If this was going on, I would suspect it wouldn't be too long before the CEO, comptroller or general counsel of some supplier to Walmart "drops a dime" and reports this, not wishing to be charged with federal felony "conspiracy in restraint of trade" when someone else either anonymously calls or mails the FTC and/or the New York Times about this and because they didn't, ends up being caught in a federal investigation. Or a huge civil lawsuit by an aggrieved competitor (or denied supplier) of Walmart. A conspiracy can only last as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut. Once someone else talks the only thing then is to squeal as soon as possible to stay out of jail.

[Casual Observer]

I see them driving people like me away in the name of profit greed.

Its probably to feed Danny Wegman's coke problem. I used to work with a guy who partied woth him, apparently Danny is a fiend with that shit.

[AArdvark]

Danny certainly had, or still has a coke problem...Hey, where's Da King? He's got the inside skinny on this topic

[Billy Mays]

I can go to WalMart and buy these things...

Walmart contacts those popular brands and "asks" them to stop distributing to Wegman's. Nobody tells Walmart "no". It's more complicated than that but that's the gist of what's happening.

Can you prove that? This would be a clear violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, (and even some similar state laws) which is punishable by serious fines and even Federal felony criminal penalties, plus anyone aggrieved - any competitor, as well as any company asked to refuse to sell to a competitor of Walmart who lost business because they would not agree to conspire to cut off a competitor of Wal-Mart - can sue for treble (triple) damages, which can mean millions, plus attorneys fees. Any antitrust legal firm would love this sort of case, the attorneys fees awarded would be huge, additional millions. And no company asked to do this is going to roll over and take a bullet as the multi-million dollar defendant in an "unlawful restraint of trade" case just to protect Wal-Mart.

You go into these stores and everything is set up to make you a happy consumer but behind the scenes these corporations are hiring absolute killers to do their bidding.

If this was going on, I would suspect it wouldn't be too long before the CEO, comptroller or general counsel of some supplier to Walmart "drops a dime" and reports this, not wishing to be charged with federal felony "conspiracy in restraint of trade" when someone else either anonymously calls or mails the FTC and/or the New York Times about this and because they didn't, ends up being caught in a federal investigation. Or a huge civil lawsuit by an aggrieved competitor (or denied supplier) of Walmart. A conspiracy can only last as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut. Once someone else talks the only thing then is to squeal as soon as possible to stay out of jail.

All of the data you provided here is old and no longer relevant.

[AArdvark]

I doubt they will restock the brands I like simply because some duffer mailed in a comment card. Offering store brands to stay competitive with the national chains*
sounds reasonable, even though I dislike it . Secretly manipulating the manufacturer sounds like a conspiracy theory and I'm not believing it.

*Weggies did everything they could to keep CostCo out of the area.

[uruzrune]

Well if you were to look at some of their original locations you would know that they all had an apostrophe in the name.

[citation needed]

[Billy Mays]

Well if you were to look at some of their original locations you would know that they all had an apostrophe in the name.

[citation needed]

https://www.wegmans.com/wp-content/uplo ... istory.pdf

[Billy Mays]

Secretly manipulating the manufacturer sounds like a conspiracy theory and I'm not believing it.

Yeah, I know, a grocery store that's been in business for more than a hundred years just stops selling stuff people want to buy and their biggest competitor starts selling that same stuff. Crazy tin hat stuff right there I tell ya.

[AArdvark]

I still don't believe it, Cap'n Crunch.

And its been happening slowly over the last decade, possibly longer. Its gotta be profit motivated but I want it to stop.

[uruzrune]

https://www.wegmans.com/wp-content/uplo ... istory.pdf

I went through the document twice, and I did not see an image with the "Wegmans" name using an apostrophe.

There is text referring to "the Wegman's" -- meaning, possessive of someone with the name "Wegman". But that's not what I was calling into question.

So, did Billy self-own? Or am I blind?

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Just when you think you know the answers around here, people will change the questions!

[Billy Mays]

I went through the document

Made you look.