The Danbury PriceRite, which is a non-union store, will employ 135 people, 120 from the immediate community, and 22 full-time. Wakefern has a full-service ShopRite store in neighboring Brookfield, about four miles from the Danbury store.
Neil Duffy, president of the PriceRite division, said he expected the new PriceRite store to succeed in part because “we cater to the community; none of our stores are exactly alike.” He also noted that PriceRite has a history of opening stores in underserved communities. “We’ve been serving food deserts before they were called food deserts,” he said.
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton cuts the ribbon at the grand opening.
The entrance to the PriceRite leads into an abundance of produce, which takes up the left side of the store. PriceRite began as a produce market, said Neil Duffy, president of the PriceRite division. “Produce is where we hang our hat. We do a lot of business in produce.” A sign in the produce department says that products are inspected in the field, the warehouse, on the delivery truck and in the store.
One of PriceRite’s labor-saving strategies is to display products in full pallets. The store offers 4,500 SKUS, about 25% private label.
Customers are encouraged to use their own bags or to buy them as needed for 11 cents each.
Shoppers bag their own products at this bagging area.
PriceRite features many massively stacked end-cap displays.
The Danbury PriceRite carries a vast assortment of Goya products to appeal to the large local Hispanic population.
Products from Gonsalves, a Portuguese food specialist, cater to Danbury’s large Brazilian community.
All of PriceRite’s perimeter departments are service-service.
Milk cases have “pass-through” doors that allow milk fixtures to be rolled in and out of the front of cases.
Many dairy cases feature energy-saving glass doors. Energy-efficient LED lighting is sued in meat cases and coolers throughout the store.
Yucca is a popular Hispanic produce item.
