Weis Markets is a large regional grocery chain headquartered in Sunbury, PA. The 157 stores flying the Weis, Mr Z's, or Weis/King's banners are located in 5 states, PA, MD, NJ, NY and WV. The company maintains a 1.2 million square foot warehouse facility in Milton, PA. The SuperPetz division operates pet supply warehouse stores across the eastern U.S.. Their 19,000+ employees come from across the world and diverse backgrounds, ready to serve the millions of customers who annually frequent their stores.
Harry and Sigmund Weis founded Weis Markets in 1912, when they opened a small neighborhood store known as Weis Pure Foods on Market Street in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. It was a modest store that was built on value, ingenuity and hard work.From the very beginning, Harry and Sigmund Weis were innovators. They were among the first grocers to sell their goods on a cash and carry basis during a time when most stores sold their goods on credit. Selling goods on credit made sense in an agricultural economy, when people generated their income during the harvest season. But selling on credit also meant higher prices for people who paid interest as well.
But the local economy was changing in 1912, powered by the growth of industry and mining. Regular paychecks were the norm, which made cash and carry possible. Even more important, it helped customers save money on their grocery bills. Harry and Sigmund were committed to selling groceries priced fairly, a founding principle of their Company.
In the late 1920s, as the company expanded to over 100 stores in Central Pennsylvania, Weis Markets introduced self-service stores. Initially, customers didn't like the idea. But when they realized it would help save them money, which was especially important during the Great Depression in the 1930s, customers embraced the concept.
Over the next two decades, Weis Markets would convert its small neighborhood grocery stores to larger supermarkets. After World War II, Harry's son Robert and Sigmund's son Sigfried returned from the military to join the family business. These two men along with Mike Rheam, who joined the company in the early 1950s, would lead the company in the subsequent decades. Together with thousands of employees both past and present, they would help build one of the most successful supermarket companies in the nation.
Today, Weis Markets is a publicly traded company (NYSE:WMK) and it operates more than 156 stores in five states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia. Our banners include Weis Markets, Mr. Z's, King's and Scot's Lo-Cost.
Weis Markets currently employs approximately 18,000 associates. It also operates a 1.1 million square-foot distribution center in Milton, PA in addition to a dairy, meat processing plant, and ice cream plant in Sunbury. In fact, Weis Markets is now one of the largest purchasers of Pennsylvania produce and dairy products.
