On a recent cool fall day, the Coresight Research team visited the new Wegmans supermarket in New York’s Brooklyn Navy Yard. The store represents Wegmans’ 101^st store – and its first in NYC. At 74,000 square feet, it is significantly larger than most New York City supermarkets, but roughly half the size of a typical Wegmans. The store offers a complete slate of products, including grocery, prepared food, restaurant and bar options. The regional chain has a strong following, and there were long lines to get in on the October 27 opening day. About the Store

• The store occupies 74,000 square feet at 21 Flushing Avenue in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
• The location offers nearly 50,000 items, of which more than 2,000 are organic.
• The Brooklyn store is Wegmans’ 101^st overall and its 47^th in New York state. Wegmans plans to open another store soon in Harrison (Westchester County).
• The store hired more than 540 new employees.
• The Brooklyn Wegmans employs an executive chef, with a culinary staff of 157, offering fresh sushi, pizza, burgers and made-to-order salads and hot soup.
• It features mix-and-match food bars, with hot and cold self-serve stations offering entrees and sides, international cuisine, homestyle and vegetarian options for takeout or in-store dining, as well as a floral department.
• The store also features a mezzanine-level café with space for nearly 100, including a bar serving wine, beer, cocktails and snacks.

About Wegmans

• Wegmans is a 103-year-old privately held company and boasts fresh, high-quality ingredients, restaurant foods, consistent low prices and good customer service.
• The company operates stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts and North Carolina.
• The grocer was named “America’s Favorite Supermarket” in a 2018 study of more than 12,800 shoppers nationwide by Market Force.
• Wegmans has 49,000 employees and had revenues of $9.2 billion in 2018.

Photos and Observations from Our Store Visit The store features modern industrial architecture, as seen from the main street (Flushing Avenue). Note the outdoor café in the lower left-hand corner of the photo. [caption id="attachment_99101" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Coresight Research [/caption]   The store has parking for nearly 700 cars, in front of the store and in a four-level parking garage. [caption id="attachment_99102" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Coresight Research [/caption]   The store interior has high ceilings, and its footprint is huge by NYC standards. [caption id="attachment_99103" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Coresight Research [/caption]   A view of the prepared-food offerings, including a chicken-wing bar, fresh sushi and Asian cuisine stations. [caption id="attachment_99104" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Coresight Research [/caption]   On-premise fresh fish for sushi and dry-aged beef. [caption id="attachment_99105" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Coresight Research [/caption]   A view towards the front of the store, featuring fresh produce. [caption id="attachment_99106" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Coresight Research [/caption]   The store features plenty of traditional checkout lanes, as well as self-checkout kiosks. [caption id="attachment_99107" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Coresight Research [/caption]   The store had employees stationed in front and inside the store encouraging customers to sign up for Wegmans’ loyalty program. Members receive $20 in digital coupons via the app once signed up. [caption id="attachment_99108" align="aligncenter" width="683"] Source: Coresight Research [/caption]   The Coresight Proprietary BEST Framework Coresight Research’s proprietary BEST framework is designed to help retailers strategize physical retail around four themes (see the figure below): Brand Building, Experiences, Service and Technology Integration. [caption id="attachment_99176" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Below, we apply the Coresight Research BEST framework to the new Wegmans grocery store with a star-based rating.

• Brand Building: B ½ The Wegmans brand is enhanced by the signage on the main thoroughfare and on the storefront, yet there are few signs inside the store to reinforce the brand.
• Experiences: E ½ The store offers a stunning breadth of food items, including prepared food, in-store sushi chefs, modern design, a spacious layout and a café and dining area, yet it does not offer experiences such as cooking classes or free product samples.
• Service: S★ The store was well staffed, with friendly employees helping customers sign up to the loyalty program plus a large number of checkout aisles. Self-checkout kiosks were available as well.
• Technology Integration: T ½ The only technology visible in the store was the self-checkout kiosks, and there were no active displays or automated signage. Wegmans offers a smartphone app, which has an easy-to-use interface, but the user has to enter very specific search terms or browse through a large number of items to find products.