Members of our Real Estate team recently attended the annual ICSC (International Council of Shopping Center Conference) in Orlando, Florida a few weeks ago.  This event includes exhibits and networking opportunities with the commercial real estate and development community.  It was our first presence at an event of this nature in this part of the U.S.  Well….you might be wondering – why was Wawa attending this conference in Florida?  At this point, we are actively engaged in looking for locations for Wawa stores in the Florida market!  It’s all part of a targeted, well thought out growth plan that we’ve been doing due diligence around for several years now.  We are planning to enter a new market, specifically, Florida. A few years ago we were examining the possibilities and making plans to go south… and then those plans were put on hold because the economy went “south” literally.  So today, although we are two years away from actually opening our first store in this new market, we are excited about reinstating the plans and beginning the journey south.

For as long as we can remember, we’ve heard from customers who have migrated south, that they miss their Wawa.  And, while we don’t aspire to be a national company, we’ve decided that now the time has come for us to follow their lead and migrate south with them.  And it will take time, the process of selecting sites, building and opening stores can take a few years. But we expect that by the end of 2012, the Wawa flock will be spreading its wings and flying south to share the Wawa brand and values with our southern-most customers.  While we are still working through the details of the expansion plan, what we can say is that we are planning to open stores in the central market of Florida in late 2012.  

In our new “Wawaland” we will continue to focus on simplifying our customers’ daily lives, living and maintaining the values and cultural components that make Wawa unique, and of course, delivering the Wawa brand experience that our customers know and love. We are committed to continued growth for our associates, 8,000 of whom are Associate owners.  We are also committed to growing the more than one million customers we serve every day.   We want to be able to provide our customers value well into the future and we know that growth in the future means we must spread our wings outside of our current five-state area.  And it’s taken some time and will continue to take time. But that’s part of our culture. Being privately held, a combination of founding family and associate ownership through an ESOP, we are committed to looking at long-term growth prospects, and not short-term whims.

Customers who are familiar with us already, will recognize the goose as our namesake symbol. For our new friends, we hope that it quickly comes to symbolize more than just a name, but the same meaningful, family-like experience that our Wawa flock has cultivated with customers for over 200 years. 

Even as we spread our wings, we are more committed than ever to our current market.   We will continue to “renew our vows” to our customers, associates and communities here in our five state market – with more than 20 new stores opening this year , and continued reinvestment in bringing older stores up to date, and through new products and continued innovation.  In fact, just this year, we’ve celebrated the “Wawaversaries” of more than 20 of our stores that have reached their 25, 30, 40 or even 45th anniversary and will celebrate 44 stores by year end.  We’ve innovated and added a whole new product line – delicious, freshly made Smoothies and Frozen Cappuccinos, and we are completing renovations of all of our coffee brew bars and condiment islands with brand new technology and graphics.

So, even as we spread our wings and go south – in search of a new Wawaland – we will never forget our roots. Here’s to a new journey and an exciting future!