Price Rite brings upgraded format to Connecticut

Price Rite Marketplace this week plans to reopen five Connecticut stores that have been converted to its new retail concept, unveiled last fall.

Part of the Wakefern Food Corp. cooperative, Price Rite said Tuesday that grand-reopening events will be held March 29 at its stores in Cromwell, New Britain, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor, Conn.

The value grocery chain kicked off the rebranding program in early October at stores in Bethlehem, Allentown and Secane, Pa. The effort includes store redesigns, expanded fresh and private label offerings, and more price savings.

According to the retailer, the enhanced shopping experience at the Pennsylvania stores generated higher traffic and lured new customers, who were drawn by the greater selection of fresh meat and produce and deep discounts. The rebranding also won the National Grocers Association Creative Choice Award for marketing and merchandising.

“We are pleased with the success from our three-store pilot in Pennsylvania, where customers really responded to the new streamlined shopping experience and updated product mix,” Price Rite President Jim Dorey said in a statement. “Now we’re proud to introduce this new store concept to our Connecticut shoppers in Cromwell, New Britain, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor. We’ve taken what we learned in Pennsylvania and applied it to these five Connecticut stores.”

Related:Price Rite ushers in new retail concepts

At the five Connecticut stores, Price Rite shoppers will see a revamped layout and brighter decor, including a market-style produce department with new LED lighting, vibrant color palettes, clear signage, a new bakery department with a dessert case called “The Sweet Spot” and new self-service checkouts.

A new destination dubbed the “Drop Zone” will showcase special deals, surprise buys and “must-have” products typically priced $5 or less, Price Rite said. Other new savings include lower everyday prices on hundreds of items storewide plus weekly deals on favorite items highlighted by “Spot on Savings!” and “Amazing Value!” signs and bright red spots throughout the aisles.

Upgraded stores also will house a wider selection of Wholesome Pantry natural and organic products, including free-from and gluten-free items, and feature a double-your-money-back guarantee on Price Rite Marketplace brand products and high-quality meat offerings, with brands such as Certified Angus Beef, Perdue’s No Antibiotics Ever Chicken, Wholesome Pantry organic chicken and Oasis Halal.

During the lead-up to the grand reopenings in Connecticut, Price Rite plans to run a Spot on Savings! promotion in the five communities.

Related:With new look, Price Rite reimagines shopping experience

“It’s the next step as we begin to roll out these important changes at all our stores,” Dorey commented about the rebranding.

Overall, Price Rite operates 65 grocery stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland and Virginia.