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1946 - A Del Monte Foods
sales representative convinced several independent grocers in the
Newark, NJ area to form a
cooperative in order to pool orders and receive lower wholesale
prices. Pleased with the results, the store owners
decided to
formalize their relationship and invested $ 1,000.00 each, forming the Wakefern Food
Corporation. The name
"Wakefern" came from the first letters
of its founding members: W for Louis Weiss, A for Sam and Al Aidekman, K for
Abe Kesselman, E for pronunciation, and FERN for Dave Fern.
Apparently they could not figure out a way to use a "G"
for members Sam Garb and AlbertGoldberg.
1951 - The members decided that they could be more competitive if
they advertised under one name, thus the name "ShopRite"
was born.
1952 - ShopRite grows to over 50 independent store owners.
1958 - ShopRite members decide not to join the trading stamp craze
and instead lowers prices by 10%.
1961 - There are over 70 ShopRite members and sales surpass $ 100
million.
1968 - ShopRite lost nearly half of its wholesale volume when its
largest member, Supermarkets General Corp., withdrew from
Wakefern
and launched Pathmark Supermarkets.
1971 - Growth of ShopRite replaces volume lost when Supermarkets
General Corp. withdrew from the cooperative.
1995 - ShopRite launches its limited variety discount grocery chain
with a store in West Springfield, MA named PriceRite
Supermarket.
2000 - Big V Supermarkets, a member of ShopRite with 30 stores in NY
and NJ filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and
threatened to
leave the coop.
2002 - Wakefern purchases 27 of Big V's 30 stores and continues to
operate them under the ShopRite banner.
2006 - ShopRite is the largest retail cooperative in the United
States and the largest private employer in New Jersey.
2006 - ShopRite's 43 independent owners operate over 200
supermarkets in NJ, NY, CT, PA and DE.
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