<p> New York-based grocer Wegmans is seeking to establish a greater foothold in the Eastern United States as the retailer gears up for opening its long-awaited <B>80,000 square foot</b> Chestnut Hill store in Boston, Massachusetts later this month. The company is also planning <B>another store opening</b> in September in Burlington, followed up by a <B>third store</b> at the University Station project in Westwood next year, according to The Boston Globe. As Wegmans gets ready to open its second store in the state this month, Whole Foods is bracing for the incoming competition in the area with new <B>“aggressive price responses.”</b> How will the one-two punch from Wegmans affect Whole Foods’ bottom line?<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> In response to the new competition, analysts from the investment firm BB&T Capital Markets downgraded Whole Foods stock earlier last week from “buy” to “hold.” Consequently, shares dropped more than 1% in morning trading last Monday to $48.80, but rallied back to close down only a penny to $49.49, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Nonetheless, Edward Jones analyst Brian Yarbrough suggests that <B>Whole Foods remains a strong stock</b> in the next three to five years.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “We believe the nation’s leading natural food chain will use all its ammunition to defend its lucrative Boston franchise against such a formidable rival,” the BB&T analysts said in their report, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The Wegmans Chestnut Hill store will focus on fresh produce, seafood, and prepared foods, with a culinary staff of 140. While the site is about a third smaller than the typical Wegmans store, the company is confident that the location has more than met its criteria for an ideal site. In fact, Bill Congdon, Vice President of Wegmans’ New England division, says the company is <B>ready to go head to head on price</b> with its competitors, including Market Basket, which just issued a 4% price cut on all items.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Congdon also went on to suggest that Wegmans will likely open another area store over the next four to five years, but no plans are ready to be announced.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The competition looks like it’s heating up in the east. One thing’s for sure, consumers are definitely the winners so far. Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we follow Wegmans expansion in Boston. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/HomepageView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&clear=true" target="_new"> Wegmans </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
