ROCHESTER, NY - Wegmans Food Markets may be making an even bigger splash in the increasingly competitive North Carolinian market soon—analysts suggest the retailer has been looking to go toe-to-toe with some of the nation’s largest grocery chains.

Wegmans announced its first store in the state in January, marking Cary, North Carolina, just outside of Raleigh, as its location. Since then, the chain has filed paperwork to obtain a second store in that area, and is working to open new stores in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Brooklyn, New York.

As explained by Retail Analyst and Managing Director of the Strategic Resource Group, Burt Flickinger, to the Democrat & Chronicle, a strong entry into North Carolina is just the first step. The decision could also mean Wegmans may delve even further into the Southeast.

"There is still a huge opportunity," he told the source. "Wegmans could double the current size of its corporate sales just by filling out the region between Virginia, the Carolinas, into Tennessee and Georgia and north Florida."

Bankruptcies by companies like A&P and Fairway have opened the window for growth oppotunites in the region, and Wegmans has confirmed that it is "considering multiple sites" in the Raleigh-Durham area. So far, no other details have emerged, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.

"Until there are firm deals for each site, we are unable to share the locations or other details," Wegmans' VP of Media Relations, Jo Natale, shared in a statement. "North Carolina is seeing continued growth, and we have been able to identify multiple sites in the Raleigh/Durham area that met all of our criteria."

Wegmans is know throughout retail circles as a high-quality and high-quantity grocer, with some stores carrying as many as 70,000 items. Where it is weaker to competition is through its prices, Flickinger told the Democrat & Chronicle.

"If that model continues, then Wegmans will be more vulnerable to companies like Kroger and ShopRite," Flickinger continued. "When Wegmans goes toe-to-toe with Tops, or toe-to-toe with Price Chopper, or toe-to-toe with Stop and Shop in New England, Wegmans compares very favorably with very low prices."

Kroger currently operates 160 stores in the state, while competitor Publix has 14 stores presently, with 20 more on the way through 2017.

Is Wegmans ready to take on the area's retail giants? Find out with AndNowUKnow as we continue to report on the details.

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