SUNBURY — David J. Hepfinger’s career in grocery retail began as a 16-year-old night-shift dairy clerk grinding hamburger meat and stocking shelves at the Albany Public Market, owned by Weis Markets.

Nearly 40 years later, Hepfinger has returned to the Weis company family — this time as just the fourth chief executive officer in the chain’s almost 100-year history.

Instead of stocking shelves, Hepfinger now is making sure each aisle is filled with produce and in orderly presentation. Rather than working the meat grinder, he is grinding numbers for a multi-billion dollar budget.

Hepfinger, who joined Weis last year as chief operating officer after 16 years on Price Chopper’s executive committee, has replaced the retired Norman Rich as Weis’ new president and chief executive officer.

Hepfinger, of Lewisburg, said he learned quickly from his high school job that the grocery business has a simple focus.

“It’s all about the people,” he said. “It’s a people business.”

According to Hepfinger, effective leadership also follows the same focus.

“Success comes from how you inspire and motivate (employees),” he said. “Any technical piece can be learned with sufficient effort, but people skills have to be found in the individual. And it’s not easy to find these skills.”

As the grocery chain continues to battle through the economic recession, Hepfinger says those same core interpersonal skills will be at the forefront of its approach.

“We’re certainly focusing on getting back to the basics,” he said. “These are uncertain times. To say tough economic times is an understatement. We’ve really been dealing with rising (operating) costs for the last few years.”

In response, Weis has implemented two popular customer cost-saving programs — the gas rewards program, which offers customers 20 cents off for every $100 spent on groceries, and the recently launched 90-day price freeze on thousands of stable items like frozen produce, meat and deli items.

“We have already received tremendous customer response on the price freeze, and the gas rewards has been very well accepted,” Hepfinger said. “These are some of the ways we’re trying to help our customers through these tough economic times. Costs have risen the last couple of years. We can’t simply pass those costs onto the customer, so we’ve taken a lot on the chin.”

More promotions are expected in the coming year, he said.

“We’re no different from anybody else,” Hepfinger said of the recession. “We may be more resistant, because folks are dining out less. We still have to closely watch what we do.”

Another customer-driven approach Weis has begun to explore locally has been seeking licenses to sell beer at its North Fourth Street, Sunbury, store and its store on Route 15, just north of Lewisburg. Weis already sells beer in three Pennsylvania stores — Tannersville, Schnecksville and Dallas.

Hepfinger, noting that both local cases are still in the approval process and not yet final, said the decision to pursue liquor licenses wasn’t spurred on by competition.

“It’s not a decision driven to add customers but more of fulfilling customer needs,” he said. “It’s part of our commitment to our customers who want a one-stop shopping location.”

According to Hepfinger, the chain will remain focused on its customer base. Even the new 76,400-square-foot Giant supermarket at Monroe Marketplace in Snyder County won’t shake Weis’s focus, Hepfinger said.

“Size doesn’t necessarily make a store better,” Hepfinger said. “The right offering makes a store better. Our intention is to make sure we’re offering the right products to our customers along with the great customer service and (store) presentation.”

Weis has a 52,500-square-foot store in Hummels Wharf and a 47,646-square-foot store in Selinsgrove that competes with the Routes 11-15 commerce. Weis has talked about plans of expanding the 59,000-square-foot store near Lewisburg.

Hepfinger said any future expansion plans will be unveiled this spring at Weis’ annual shareholders’ meeting.

“We’re in the process of finalizing our capital expenditure plan, which approached $60 million this past year,” he said. “As we wind it down, we will take a look at what investments will be made to each store.”

Looking ahead, he said Weis’ success will remain bound to its loyal employee base — a commitment Hepfinger knows of first-hand.

“We have many employees who have been with us since high school and many multi-generation connections,” he said. “They have all become an extension of the Weis family. The part of this job I enjoy the most is teaching and working with people, seeing them grow as employees and move up the chain.”

** E-mail comments to jnorth@dailyitem.com.



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Weis by the numbers

** Founded: 1912 by Harry and Sigmund Weis as a small neighborhood store, Weis Pure Foods, on Market Street in Sunbury.

** Chain: Weis now has 155 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia. It also owns SuperPetz, a pet supply store with 28 locations in 10 states.

** Employees: Weis has more than 18,000 employees, including roughly 2,500 in the Valley.

** History of CEOs: 1912-61, Harry Weis, a co-founder; 1961-94, Sigfried Weis; 1994-2008, Norman S. Rich; and starting 2009, David J. Hepfinger

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