Wegmans stand against smoking: Financial implications
By: Jecoliah Ellis
Updated: January 4, 2008
"There will be financial implications because this was a very profitable category for us," said Wegmans spokesperson Jo Natale.
Experts agree. Mark Zupan, Dean of the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester, says Wegmans will lose customers, but he says the grocery chain also stand to gain some.
"This allows them to attract and retain top empoloyees and even draw customers to the chain," said Zupan.
So do competing grocery stores have a chance to take business away from Wegmans? "I don't think they'll play up the 'We still tout cigarettes or promote cigarettes,' but I think they'll view it as giving them a leg up," said Zupan.
"If you can't do one stop shopping people will be on the roads more which means more accidents and more gas burning up."
