For most of the 60 years since it was founded as a dairy farm outlet, the Wawa company grew slowly within a regional market covering Philadelphia and South Jersey. As the stores evolved into delis with gas stations, they began to pop up near every major intersection.
As it grew, the company and its front-line workers retained a home team vibe, fostering a fiercely loyal—some have said fanatic—customer base that includes celebrities like Kate Winslet, Harry Styles, and Tina Fey.
In the 1970s, when the 24-hour diner began to disappear from the American landscape, Wawa extended its store hours to 24/7. In many towns today, the local Wawa is the sole beacon of relief for the hungry insomniac.
In the 1990s, when banks and convenience stores charged fees to withdraw cash from ATM machines, Wawa added no-fee ATM machines in all its locations. It was a big draw and the policy has remained unchanged.
Today, Wawa is emerging as a giant in the food-to-go business. It is still a private company, with no plans for an IPO, and still majority owned by the descendants of the founder. Its 2023 sales are estimated to have been $18.5 billion, it employs an estimated 45,000, and is growing fast. By comparison, McDonald’s 2023 sales were stagnant at about $25 billion.
Wawa ranks in the top five of the fastest growing brands in the country, according to The Food Institute. There are currently more than 1,000 locations, with an ambitious expansion plan underway, south to Florida and into the Midwest.
According to Yelp, the Wawa brand saw an 88% increase in consumer interest nationwide from 2022 to 2023 and was recently ranked number one in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, an economic indicator. Newsweek’s 2024 rankings of America’s best convenience store retailers listed Wawa as number two.
What’s driving all this success?
Some of the wind at the company’s back is timing. The pandemic-fueled convenience and flexibility of grabbing a freshly-prepared meal on the run is as popular as ever, especially when comparing the cost with the inflation-driven prices of fast-casual restaurant meals.
What has distinguished Wawa is its enormous menu, which it keeps expanding. The company has taken on multiple category competitors, offering burgers, sandwiches and wraps, pizza, specialty coffees, shakes and smoothies—all of which are prepared by hand. Turnaround time is usually a few minutes for most items.
The company was ahead of the curve with self-checkout and electric vehicle recharging stations in its newer stores along with free air machines for under-inflated tires.
Basically, Wawa seems to have reimagined the role of a convenience store as a community resource and refuge that is always open.
The glue that holds it all together are the people making those sandwiches, cleaning up the coffee bar, and mopping the floor—they are also owners of the company through an employee stock option program (ESOP). Each year, based on company performance, eligible associates receive a contribution to their ESOP account.
It’s estimated that about 40% of Wawa shares are held by employees. According to one report, the share price has risen from $900 in 2009 to $14,000 more recently. Longtime associates hanging up their aprons can walk away with huge payouts after a career spent making hoagies and iced lattes.
That’s why, when the pandemic began, Wawa didn’t lay off employees. It’s also why, during the Great Resignation (when young workers were quitting minimum wage jobs) the company was able to keep its stores operating while competitors were begging for applicants. It is not unusual to encounter associates who have logged multiple years at the same location and know the names and favorite items of many of their regular customers.
In an age when private equity investors in the retail sector tend to be Wall Street wolves looking to leverage a brand for sale or to plunder an underlying asset, like real estate, Wawa’s story and its success is refreshing.
It is a reminder of what can happen when company ownership is stable and committed, management isn’t afraid to experiment and listen to its customers, employees are treated like they matter, the quality of products and services is consistently high, and the offerings are customer centric. Full stop.
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