The Wawa Way
How a Funny Name and Six Core Values Revolutionized Convenience
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Wawa, a family business with a history in dairy and manufacturing, expanded into retail in 1964, offering a friendly, personal alternative to supermarkets. Since then, the convenience store grew into a well-known company that competes against the biggest industry players in the world in three areas -- fuel, convenience, and food -- all while maintaining their personal approach and small business mentality. Now, almost 50 years later, Wawa has opened its first store in Florida and has begun to play on the national field. How did it happen? What are the reasons for their success? Why have they been able to go up against the big guys with nothing more than homegrown talent?
With a mixture of personal history and business advice, Howard Stoeckel discusses the last 50 years of Wawa's growth, development, and expansion. It's the story of how a small company with a funny name made a big difference, and all it took was a little goose sense.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wawa stores, found in the mid-Atlantic states and Florida, inspire impressive customer loyalty. Recently retired Wawa CEO Stoeckel, writing with Andelman, pays fond tribute to this unique organization in a lively history that marks the company's 50th anniversary. Part convenience store, part restaurant, Wawa occupies a unique space in the market, with core values that can inspire any organization. From valuing people and delighting customers, to doing the right thing, and embracing change, these principles are less a corporate dictate and more a way of life. How Wawa operates flies in the face of common corporate practices, from their servant leadership model to their ownership structure, which consists of private ownership and shared ownership among the founding family and employees. In chronicles of the up's and down's of the company, what emerges is the organization's commitment to staff and customers. Corporate histories are seldom engrossing and even less frequently do they touch an emotional chord, but that's exactly what the books does. Wawa fans, and general business readers, will relish this empowering story.