The Wood family owns 300 acres (120 ha) of estate property. owns 50 acres (20 ha) of land around "Red Roof," the corporate headquarters, 150 acres (61 ha) of land around the Wawa dairy, and the 225-acre (91 ha) J.T. The properties are located in Chester Heights and Middletown Township. Farms, within two municipalities in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. and the Wood family together control about 725 acres (293 ha) of land, containing the corporate headquarters, the Wawa dairy farm, and J.T. As of 2008, Wawa's New Jersey stores were concentrated mostly in South Jersey. As of 2016, Wawa employs over 22,000 people in 720+ stores (450+ offering gasoline). In 2015, Wawa ranked 34th on the Forbes magazine list of the largest private companies, with total revenues of $9.68 billion. Holdings and locations Ī typical Wawa convenience store and gas station in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania Although Wawa is a family-run business, Wawa associates own roughly 50% of the company, more than 40% of which is owned through the company's employee stock-ownership program. Many Wood family members are active in the company. Eleuthère (Thère) du Pont has served as both the CFO and president, but is no longer associated with the company. The current CEO of Wawa is Chris Gheysens, who succeeded Howard Stoeckel in January 2013. (Longfellow uses the word in Book II ("The Four Winds") of The Song of Hiawatha, writing "He it was who sent the wild-goose, Wawa, northward") Although the writing is not specific on species, an image of a Canada goose in flight serves as the Wawa corporate logo. The name of the town Wawa is in turn derived from the Ojibwe word wewe (pronounced "way-way") meaning snow goose, despite the company's image of a Canada goose. The chain's name comes from the site of the company's first milk plant and corporate headquarters in the Wawa, Pennsylvania area. Today, the ESOP accounts for more than 40% of Wawa stock. Because the company is privately held, Wawa secures an independent assessment of its stock value at regular intervals to ensure that the ESOP is fairly maintained. In 1992, Wawa formalized its associate ownership with its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), with stock being awarded to associates annually based on the prior year's service. In 1977, Wawa began sharing ownership of the company with its associates through profit-sharing plans. The former Wawa Dairy Farms building in Wawa, Pennsylvania Open both earlier and later than traditional supermarkets, they carried other foods and beverages besides milk, as well as other items from the Wawa dairy. The Wawa Food Market stores were also part of a then-new trend in retailing, the convenience store. A parade was held from the original location to the new store on opening day. On April 16, 1964, Grahame Wood, George Wood's grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market at 1212 MacDade Boulevard in Folsom, Pennsylvania, which remained in operation until June 17, 2016, when it closed in favor of a new "Super Wawa" down the street. Wawa started to open its own stores to adjust to these market changes. In the 1960s, however, many consumers began buying milk in stores instead of using home delivery. Wawa began using the slogan "Buy Health by the Bottle" they served customers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, delivering milk to customers' homes. Demand for dairy products grew rapidly during the 1920s, and so did the company. The strategy worked, and allowed the Wawa dairy to grow. Wood arranged for doctors to certify his milk was sanitary and safe for consumption, which convinced many consumers to buy the product. Since pasteurization was not yet available, many children faced sickness from consuming raw milk. Wood imported cows from the British Crown dependency island of Guernsey, and bought 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land in the Chester Heights area the corporate headquarters would later be renamed Wawa. In 1890, George Wood, an entrepreneur from New Jersey, moved to Delaware County, Pennsylvania it was here that he began the Wawa Dairy Farm. The Wawa business began in 1803 as an iron foundry.
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