Price Rite - History of PriceRite Limited Assortment Stores

History of PriceRite Limited Assortment Stores

It was 1995 when The Wakefern Food Corporation opened its first limited-assortment concept store in West Springfield, Massachusetts. After failing to successfully enter the warehouse club concept with their PriceRite Warehouse Club (see below), Wakefern assigned the PriceRite name to its newest prototype: a limited-assortment, deep-discount supermarket meant to do battle with the no-frills operators which were successfully spreading across North America (Aldi, Food Basics, Save-a-Lot.)

In the years since the first PriceRite opened, the concept has been tweaked to emphasize the size and freshness of the perishable departments in comparison to its competition. Newer stores, such as the PriceRite of Brockton, MA (at over 40,000 sq ft (4,000 m2)) are also larger than most of the earlier stores. Wakefern has also used the concept as a replacement for under-performing ShopRite stores or in regions where the PriceRite concept was thought to be more successful. As a result, underperforming ShopRite supermarkets in places such as York, Pennsylvania and Wethersfield, Connecticut have been converted to very successful PriceRite stores, keeping jobs and a supermarket in these towns. A PriceRite in Torrington, Connecticut sat as a darkened ShopRite store for almost 10 years before re-opening as a PriceRite.

In 2005, one PriceRite was also opened in Azusa, California, in partnership with K.V.Mart Co., which is an independent supermarket operator in southern California. The Azusa PriceRite store has been branded "PriceRite Grocery Depot". Another PriceRite has since opened in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawaiian Gardens.

On March 30, 2008, the first "PriceRite Marketplace" store was opened in Providence, Rhode Island, at a former Shaw's. This store is 55,000 sq ft (5,100 m2), and features additional departments such as a full deli, seafood department, as well as a Cafe Bustelo-branded cafe in the store. Other non-standard features in the Providence PriceRite include a fresh-roasted peanut stand, and fresh mozzarella cheese made in the store. The Providence store has a large focus on ethnic items, with an entire aisle of Goya products and an aisle of Italian items including fresh pasta and specialty cheeses. These selections reflect that the store is in the Eagle Square shopping center on the western border of Federal Hill.