Wegman's to stop selling tobacco.

[Rolling Thunder]

http://wcbstv.com/local/wegmans.tobacco.cigarettes.2.623231.html

"We have come to this decision after thinking about the role smoking plays in people's health," the company's top executives, Danny Wegman and his daughter, Colleen, said in a letter to employees.

Translation: You can't stuff your fat pie-hole with cake, if you're smoking. Please be sure to visit our bakery to compensate for your nicotine withdrawal. We want to be your friend.

[Bird of Prey]

http://wcbstv.com/local/wegmans.tobacco.cigarettes.2.623231.html



Translation: You can't stuff your fat pie-hole with cake, if you're smoking. Please be sure to visit our bakery to compensate for your nicotine withdrawal. We want to be your friend.

It will SELL its remaining inventory until February whatever. In other words, we think it's despicable but we don't want to take a loss, so we're still SELLIN, BABY.

Wegmans for Wippocrates.

[nerds]

Wegman's behavior come July or so:


:hat:


$$$$$$$


:gone:


:Headbang:

[Rolling Thunder]

I'm bracing for the coming round of 'We don't sell tobacco, because we care!' advertisements. :D
The new one near my home is trying desperately to get a liquor license. I guess they can only sell one vice at a time.

[nerds]

Well yeah, we know that it's perfectly okay to put high fructose corn syrup (a factor in diabetes and obesity) in virtually everything and sell that, I mean, come on. And for all those busy people out there, we'll sell you anything you want in a box, microwave meal, or instant conglomeration whose ingredients list will make your head spin right off its moorings but we count on our nice customers not to have time to read any of that. Who cares that our store cookies have an ingredients list longer than Niagara Falls, full of scary scientific words you'd rather not know about anyway?

We care, oh yes, weeeee care deeply, all grocery chains and food producers do of course, and good luck with your early-onset Type II diabetes, your clogged arteries and your high blood pressure. But by God we got rid of those damn vermin smokers didn't we, yessirreeee.

[Susan Gable]

Hey, I happen to like Wegmans. It's my favorite grocery store. :)

And since I don't buy tobacco, I don't care if they sell it or not. But it does seem a little weird. Hey, it's their business, and they can sell what they want.

They do have an awesome organic food selection. And a terrific selection of their brand foods that are "Food You Feel Good About."

Perhaps if they tried to sell organic cigs?

Seriously, overall, Wegmans is an awesome grocery store. I take people who come to visit on a tour, it's THAT cool. Honestly. It's a tourist stop here in Erie -- at least for tourists who stay with me. <G> Come to Erie, I'll take you to Wegmans!

Also, I feel the need to point out that Wegmans has consistantly over the last few years been very high ranked (including at least one spot at Number One) on Forbes Best Places to Work list. (or some such list.)

Nope, I don't work for them. No one in my house works for them. I'm just a huge fan. :)

Susan G.

[blacbird]

Fine with me. We don't have any Wegman's where I live, and I doubt I've ever shopped in one, even when travelling. They're a free enterprise, free to make marketing decisions they want to make. What's wrong with all you free-marketers about this, anyway? It's not like you can't get your carcinogens elsewhere.

caw

[Sarita]

I :heart: Wegmans. Where else can I get all my crunchy granola hippy food? Plus, all of the organic produce at our store comes from a 200 mile radius. They're good people. They'll continue to make money, I don't care if they sell smokes or not.

[Rolling Thunder]

Fine with me. We don't have any Wegman's where I live, and I doubt I've ever shopped in one, even when travelling. They're a free enterprise, free to make marketing decisions they want to make. What's wrong with all you free-marketers about this, anyway? It's not like you can't get your carcinogens elsewhere.

caw

It's also not like they haven't sold the product for years and years, except now it's PC to have a conscience; and make a nice little contrived gesture to show that they have everyone's best interest at heart.

It's pure marketing.

[billythrilly7th]

Love ya, Wegmans.

You were the only store I could get my ..

http://www.taquitos.net/im/sn/Bachman-Jax-clean.jpg

...when I was in college.

Sell 'em, don't sell 'em.

Vatever.

[Susan Gable]

It's also not like they haven't sold the product for years and years, except now it's PC to have a conscience; and make a nice little contrived gesture to show that they have everyone's best interest at heart.

It's pure marketing.

So what? It's a business. Marketing is part of it.

This is not even remotely like the government making a decision. It's a buisness, making a decision they think will be in their best interest.

Now, if they stop selling chocolate, I might get upset. But in that case, all that will happen is I will take my grocery money elsewhere, and not only get my chocolate but everything else somewhere else.

Any smokers who are made at Wegmans for this decision are free to no longer spend any money at all there.

I do not think Wegmans' bottom line will be hurt at all.

Susan G.

[MattW]

While I love Wegmans for their fresh produce and meats, who in their right mind would by mundane dry goods or cigarettes from them? Their mark up is outrageous!

But while most around here have a good selection of wine, they close an hour earlier than all other liquor stores. boo to that.

[Maryn]

I shop at the flagship Wegmans (and have seen Danny Wegman and the Widow Wegman there many times), and to be frank, I have never seen any business run so well. Frankly, it's hard to find a fault of any kind. They're human, and mistakes are made, but they're quick to both correct and apologize.

The company has been voted the best grocery store (by Consumer Reports) and the best place to work (Forbes?). They're that good. So what if they don't sell tobacco? They also don't sell wine or hard liquor (state law), or fabric, or furnace filters. Smokers and chewers will simply have to go a couple hundred feet to the next-closest merchant who sells what they want. Those of us seeking fabric or furnace filters have to go farther.

This week, they started the only flower delivery service that operates seven days a week, including evenings.

They have the largest selection of natural foods in the metro area. They routinely carry over 125 different organic fresh fruits and vegetables. The store is spotless. The employees pick up anything they see out of place, even on their breaks. They smile at customers and are uniformly friendly. They're well-trained before they're allowed to work without on-the-spot supervision.

Yes, some of their dry goods and canned goods cost a nickel more than at the competitions' stores, but the competition has indifferent cashiers, dreary lighting, signs that no longer apply to what's on which row, employees who have no idea where anything is, badly plowed parking lots, and ten thousand other things wrong. I'll pay the nickel.

I drive right past one of the area's biggest competing stores to get to Wegmans. I used to shop there occasionally, but I haven't been there in years now.

I figure it's Wegmans call whether they choose to sell a product or not sell it, and if I don't like it, I'm free to shop at the icky store.

Maryn, serious Wegmans fan

[InfinityGoddess]

Well yeah, we know that it's perfectly okay to put high fructose corn syrup (a factor in diabetes and obesity) in virtually everything and sell that, I mean, come on. And for all those busy people out there, we'll sell you anything you want in a box, microwave meal, or instant conglomeration whose ingredients list will make your head spin right off its moorings but we count on our nice customers not to have time to read any of that. Who cares that our store cookies have an ingredients list longer than Niagara Falls, full of scary scientific words you'd rather not know about anyway?

We care, oh yes, weeeee care deeply, all grocery chains and food producers do of course, and good luck with your early-onset Type II diabetes, your clogged arteries and your high blood pressure. But by God we got rid of those damn vermin smokers didn't we, yessirreeee.

Eh, that's not entirely the fault of the grocery store chains, so much as it's the fault of the food industry and the FDA asleep at the switch.

I just think we need a way to make healthier, organic food and cane sugar cheaper than the supposed "cheap stuff" and we need an FDA that does its job in regulating this sort of thing.

[Christine N.]

Wegmans is revered around here. They have this amazing fruit tart, and soup you would DIE for.

There's not one really near my house, but people import stuff for me. Yum.

And what's the difference between this chain stopping the sale of tobacco and fast food chains voluntarily changing their cooking oil to one without Trans-fat?

Where's the love?