Here’s a recent email exchange I had with Jonathan Weis, Vice President of Weis Markets, INC. It should be noted that Mr. Weis was kind enough to send a reply. I’ve ordered the post with the original email I sent at the top, and so on:
All,
Frederick, MD is the 3rd largest city in the state of Maryland, which happens to have the 2nd highest median income in the United States. We are baffled though, at the ever-apparent explosion of dumpy grocery store after dumpy grocery store in our town. The city and county of Frederick, MD has a large affluent base, one that is relatively new to the metropolis, but present nevertheless.
My wife and I just can’t figure out why every major national grocery chain has fashioned us with their bottom tier models. The horribly non-profitable and rundown Food Lion of zip code 21703 was replaced by an even dumpier Bottom Dollar a little over a year ago. Lesser communities get Bloom, while Frederick gets Bottom Dollar. Why is that?
We are STARVING for a high-end grocery store in Frederick. The market is primed and eager for this. The best part of it for you is that you have virtually zero competition. A similarly rundown and dumpy Super-un-Fresh sits a mile away. One of the smallest and least efficient Giant’s is a half-mile down the road. Safeway attempted a partial reconstruction on their nearby location, and its just as dirty and slow as ever.
Weis? Two of them are close by, with the newest one styling a facade of Brown and yellow adorned circa 1975. Both are embarrasingly dirty and under-frequented. I’ve been to both stores on numerous ocassions, and not once has either of them been even close to busy. Desolate would be a more appropriate description. The proverbial straw that broke our back was a trip to nearby Thurmont a couple days ago. I’m sure we’re all willing to admit that Thurmont greatly pales in commercial comparison to the town of Frederick. Yet shockingly, we came upon a great, shiny, clean, new, high-end Weis in…………….Thurmont?!?!?! Someone in your Sales & Marketing department swung and missed bigtime when they chose to sink their dollars in Thurmont and not Frederick.
The point should be clear. We have money in this town, and deserve to spend it on nice things. Many of our neighbors travel all the way to Germantown (20 miles away) to achieve the grocery store quality we’ve all been seeking. I would greatly appreciate a response as to why this market has been neglected for so long, and what plans lie in waiting to improve both yours and our standing.
Mr. Weis’ reply:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your feelings and observations about Grocery stores in Frederick. I would point out that by April three of our four Weis Markets in the area will have been significantly enlarged and/or remodeled in order to be attractive, commercially up-to-date and useful to customers. In fact, I recently visited our Spring Ridge store (at Rts. 40 and 144) and would be proud to shop that store myself as my everyday local grocery store.
But I realize that my personal preferences may not matter or be relevant to you. What type of grocery consumer/shopper are you and your wife? What types of products and services are you interested in? Could you kindly provide examples of food stores that you like and find useful? Finally, is there a geographic area that you feel we are neglecting in Frederick?
I am interested in your opinions and again thank you for contacting me and I look forward to receiving additional data at your convenience.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Weis
My reply to him:
Mr. Weis,
I am truly appreciative of your response and eagerness to receive our feedback. While my wife and I are merely one household, I will try and divulge the characteristics and features of importance to us when we grocery shop.
To answer your question about what kinds of stores we enjoy frequenting, I would point to your very own store in Thurmont as an example. Having never been in the Spring Ridge store I can’t say how the two compare, but the Thurmont location has some real qualities to it that I know we would appreciate in Frederick. S.F.W. has a wonderful location in Germantown (Mateny Road) to give you an example. If you’ve been to any of the newer Harris Teeter’s in the D.C. Metro area, you’ll know what I mean when I say those stores should be the model for all high-end stores. To be more specific however, here’s a list of features I know my wife and I would appreciate:
Appearance:
- Wide Aisles
- Bright lighting (track lighting gives a higher-end feel as opposed to fluorescent)
- Clean Floors. The stores with concrete and/or ceramic are terrific.
- A modern and tall (2-3 story) facade.
Services/Products:
- A large, clean, and FRESHLY STOCKED produce section (I think you nailed this category in Thurmont)
- A large and competitively priced Meat section. Discounted meat prices (assuming the store has a large selection and the meat is fresh) will make us go to a store over anything else. Giant consistently has the most affordable meat/best meat sales out of any other store in the area. As such, we go there most frequently.
- A new and modern inventory of carts. This may sound petty and overly specific, but the condition and appearance of a store’s cart inventory speaks volumes about the entire location.
Geographically speaking, I think you know that the north and east portions of Frederick (spring ridge) are where the wealthiest residents reside. We live in the Ballenger Creek area, which falls between the high-end neighborhoods of the north and east, and the lower end neighborhoods of the Golden Mile area (west). 21703 is our zip code………while one of your locations is off the golden mile, the middle-tiered area of Ballenger Creek is very close by. Your Jefferson Street location is also very close to the Ballenger Creek area. As I stated in my first email, there is zero competition when it comes to higher-end stores in our part of Frederick.
Thanks again for listening. Have a great afternoon.
