Wakefern Welcomes 2 New Conn. Members

Wakefern Food Corp. said Friday that two new members based in Connecticut have joined its retail cooperative. Upon the completion of Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern’s acquisition of 11 Connecticut Shaw’s stores, Joseph Family Markets, LLC and Miller Farms Family Markets, LLC will run three of these locations. The rest of the stores will be taken over by existing Wakefern members.

According to Wakefern president Dean Janeway, “The unique benefits of our cooperative structure and the entrepreneurial spirit of our members help deliver the ShopRite and PriceRite reputation for low prices and high quality to our customers.” Joseph Family Markets and Miller Family Farms Markets join the co-op’s 44 other members as part of the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States.

Charles Joseph of Joseph Family Markets and his family will own the Canton and West Hartford locations, while Miller Family Farms’ Raymond Miller and his family will own the Enfield store.

Before joining Wakefern, Joseph was general manager of ShopRite of Hunterdon County, Inc., which operates three ShopRites in central New Jersey, for 12 years. In this role, he oversaw all aspects of operating high-volume supermarkets, as well as assuming responsibility for financial operations, advertising and marketing initiatives.

Miller spent 34 years at Wakefern, most recently in the position of manager of retail operations, in which capacity he helped integrate new members into the cooperative, before founding Miller Farms Family Markets and becoming a member himself.

Following the acquisition of the Shaw’s stores, the remaining locations will be owned and operated by Wakefern Food Corp. members Five Star Supermarkets of Clinton, LLC (Clinton); Waverly Markets, LLC (East Hartford); Grade A Markets, Inc. (Fairfield and Southbury); ShopRite of Milford (Hamden and Stratford); and Drust Markets, who will replace the ShopRite of Meridien it currently owns with the newer, more modern store in Wallingford. Drust also recently said it would open another new location in Southington, Conn. Additionally, a former Shaw’s in Willimantic will be owned by PRRC, Inc. and operate under the PriceRite banner.

The acquisition will boost Wakefern’s presence in the Nutmeg State to 22 ShopRites and nine PriceRite locations.

The co-op’s members operate over 200 ShopRite supermarkets throughout New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. In 1996, the company introduced the PriceRite banner, extending Wakefern’s reach into Rhode Island and Massachusetts. As the merchandising and distribution arm of the company, Wakefern, along with its member companies, employs more than 47,000 people.
X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds