Warehouse Economy Outlet

Warehouse Economy Outlet, (W.E.O), "Where Economy Originates", was a discount, warehouse-style supermarket concept that was developed in the 1970s by The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), and is credited with being among the first of its kind in the industry. The first W.E.O. opened in Pennsauken, New Jersey in 1971, and quickly became a successful, profitable venture. W.E.O. featured top-selling grocery items in their original wholesale bulk packaging at greatly reduced prices. In 1972 A&P expanded this format to 1,500 stores; however, the expansion failed because many of its older stores, built prior to the 1950s, were not large enough to stock the large quantities of discounted groceries that the format called for. By 1975, A&P abandoned the format.