Have you ever heard of Wawa? Maybe not, but the Pennsylvania-based convenience store is being greeted by a groundswell of people who have as it opens its first store in Orlando. This bodes well for the next phase of its business plan -- an expansion into south and central Florida.
The convenience store, which opened near SeaWorld, had a line of customers waiting for hours to enter the store when it opened yesterday. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County mayor Teresa Jacobs all came, too.
The best explanation is that Wawa has a cult following. Named after the Algonquin word for Canada goose, Wawa is famous for its own brand of coffee, soft pretzels and East Coast-style hoagies. It also sells Tastykakes, a rather hard-to-find treat that some consider a delicacy. Its quirky image and offbeat corporate personality seem to inspire fondness among customers. That's a real asset in the convenience store field, considering how many people seem to really not care where they get their gas.
Wawa plans to open five more locations in Orlando, Tampa and Kissimmee and has its sights set on later expansions into east Seminole County. If it's successful, it can add Florida to its list of states where it has a presence. That list already includes Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
It remains to be seen whether the ardor with which consumers greeted the first store will hold steady for all the new locations, but certainly, any business that opens with the level of fanfare that Wawa did can fairly be described as well-positioned.
Source: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "Wawa fans welcome 1st Florida store in Orlando," Sandra Pedicini, July 18, 2012
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