The Brown & White

Known among students and area residents for its high-end food and prepared meals, Wegmans surprised shoppers by announcing on Nov. 6 that they will be lowering prices on dozens of items.

The Wegmans family who own the grocery chain decided to lower prices because of the recent economic downturn, said Bill McElwee, Service Area manager for the Allentown Wegmans.

"The family takes their employees into consideration when making decisions for the store," McElwee said. "They want the employees to be able to shop there, so they looked at what the employees needed, which was lower prices."

Wegmans timed their price cuts to coincide with the holiday season, when shoppers will be buying more food than usual.

"Things like the roasting chickens that people will use for family meals or chocolate chips for baking are things our customers would be buying now anyway," McElwee said. "We are hoping that for the average customer the savings would be akin to $40 a month."

The price cuts are good news to Katherine Rumbaugh, '09, who shops at the store.

"I buy organic vegetables and vegetarian food there, both of which are usually very expensive," Rumbaugh said. "As a college student, saving money on food is great."

The price reduction isn't enough for some students, like Caitlin Higgins, '09, who said her parents don't give her money for food. She said she'll only go out of her way to shop at Wegmans for specific items, like their prepared food.

Other local supermarkets have no plans of lowering their prices to compete with Wegmans.

"We're still seeing students in our store," said Rick Findley, store manager of Superfresh. "So far there has been very little change in business from last year to this year."

Ahart's supermarket does not plan on reducing prices because they consistently try to have the lowest prices, said store owner George Ahart.

"A lot of our success is due to everyday low pricing," Ahart said. "We are constantly out there working with vendors to get better prices for our customers."

Ahart said his supermarket caters to a greater variety of customers than Wegmans.

"We have people in our store from all different backgrounds, and we do our best to meet all of their needs," Ahart said. "Our sale prices go to every customer - you do not need a card or membership to get the best deal. We do not keep track of our customers' personal information like other stores."

Ahart was not swayed by the decision to reduce prices at Wegmans, because he said it isn't a total store reduction.

"Wegmans lowering their prices was surprising, but you have to do what you have to do to get business," Ahart said. "It got them on the front page of The Morning Call and drummed up talk, but it's not that wide a price reduction."

Some students, however, predict that other area grocery stores will soon be forced to lower their prices to keep up.

"Although not a huge decrease, I think that grocery stores will be lowering their prices to meet their customer's budgets, which could be a huge threat to stores like Wegmans," Rumbaugh said.

Paige Malinowski, '09, said she's not sure that other stores will be forced to also lower the cost of their food.

"Either way, they know that people will always need food and will always need to purchase it, sometimes regardless of the prices," Malinowski said.

She said she was pleased to see a company taking the initiative to help customers.

"I am definitely appreciative of them lowering their prices, especially considering the current state of the economy," Malinowski said. "While it does have a negative impact on Wegmans and their business, it shows that they are trying to cater to their customers."

Wegman's was able to reduce their prices by taking a cut in the company's profits.

"The Wegmans family is operating on a lower profit margin right now because they know it's the right thing to do," McElwee said. "Students may not be flocking to the grocery store due to the price reduction, but most are appreciative of the company's efforts."