Latest news with #StopAndShop
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Stop & Shop Revamp: Celebrating new look and fighting hunger
WILLIMANTIC — Stop & Shop in Willimantic had much to celebrate as it held an official grand reopening of its newly remodeled location at 1391 Main Street. The new remodel is part of the brand's multi-year commitment to refreshing stores across its footprint and improving the customer shopping experience. Store Manager Sara Tegge has been the manager since mid-February, and the remodel started in March. It was recently completed. 'We revamped the entire store and integrated all of our natural and organic items into the aisles,' Tegge said. 'We opened up the produce to give a more open and comfortable shopping experience for the customers.' Tegge said the feedback has been positive, and people are happy with the new, clean sleek look. 'It's a really nice, new addition to the community,' Tegge said. 'A customer stopped us and said thank you for giving our town something so nice.' The remodel started March 10 and was completed by the celebration on Friday. The newly-remodeled store in Willimantic includes expanded grab-and-go prepared foods, a remodeled produce department and a remodeled bakery department. Over 800 new products are available across the store, including a multicultural assortment of popular Puerto Rican and Latin American favorites, Asian-centric products, seasonings, spices and flavors worldwide. To add to the celebration, Stop & Shop presented Eastern Connecticut State University with a $10,000 check to fight food insecurity among students. The check will support 'Shawn's Cupboard' as part of its School Food Pantry Program. Established in 2019, the program aims to help limit barriers that impact students' ability to succeed in the classroom and ensure consistent access to food. 'This store looks amazing and I can say, I'm a Stop & Shop shopper myself,' Eastern President Karim Ismaili said. 'I'm grateful on behalf of the University for the support you are providing for our students by making this donation.' Ismaili said food insecurity is an issue for their students and families, so every dollar will go towards the nutritious food and personal care items they need. Dean of Students Dr. Kemesha Wilmot said the $10,000 check will go far, and she finds it difficult to hear about students' food insecurity issues. 'We do have students on campus who come there, and they're trying to get their education, and because they are unable to access food, it interferes with their academics,' Wilmot said. 'I work with students on a day-to-day basis, and they come to my office and they're saying, I don't have a meal, not even on campus, but even at home.' Wilmot said food insecurity is an issue in the community. 'I really appreciate Stop & Shop for really stepping in and being that gap to support our students,' Wilmot said. 'When a student comes into my office, hunger is not one of the things that I want to hear that is stopping them from pursuing their education.' The program currently serves over 260 schools across the Northeast and is known as one of the nation's largest school food pantry programs. This is the fourth year that Stop & Shop has partnered with Eastern, and this donation will provide the school with over $30,000 in total to ensure that students have access to healthy foods. It will also enable the school to provide fresh produce, proteins, and personal care items to meet the rising needs of students. Stop & Shop in Willimantic is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Stop & Shop boss reveals why prices are soaring
The president of Stop & Shop said the popular retailer's prices are at an all-time high at stores in Massachusetts because of a surge in retail theft. Roger Wheeler revealed the issue in a letter to members of the Massachusetts delegation after they inquired about the store's high prices in urban locations. Earlier this month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Ed Markey, and Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Jim McGovern penned a letter to Wheeler directly, asking him for 'answers as to why prices appear to be higher for groceries in low-income communities.' Wheeler, who became president of the Northeast grocery chain in 2024, debunked their claims, stating: 'Stop & Shop does not under any circumstances take a neighborhood's demographics into consideration when setting prices. 'The specific process for setting prices is highly confidential and competitively sensitive for any major retail business.' In regard to the soaring prices, the president called on 'legislators to act swiftly by advancing legislation' to help stop retail theft. 'Retail theft is a major concern for retailers like us, and we need legislators to act swiftly by advancing legislation … to help protect our customers and associates,' he said in the letter sent on Wednesday. 'Our business's ability to continue to invest in our stores, our customers, and our communities relies on Congressional action to stop organized retail crime.' Wheeler (pictured) mentioned the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, a legislation that was reintroduced last month that would more to 'crack down on flash mob robberies and intricate retail theft schemes.' The proposed legislation, which was brought back into play by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, would establish a supply chain and organized retail crime coordination hub within the Department of Homeland Security, the Boston Herald reported. It would also include 'expertise from state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as retail industry representatives,' while simultaneously implementing 'new tools to assist in federal investigation and prosecution of organized retail crime, and help recapture lost goods and proceeds.' Wheeler clarified that Stop & Shop followed the 'common practice' in the industry where prices vary based on location. He specified that the size of the store, rent prices and how much it costs to transport goods to the location and 'shrink', including losses brought on by theft, all contribute to prices. According to the outlet, Boston youth volunteers with the Hyde Square Task Force uncovered that the Jamaica Plain Stop & Shop charged 18 percent more on 17 identical items than its Dedham location, a suburban area. In response, the grocer lowered prices in Jamaica Plain, but higher prices are still being recorded at 'inner-city locations,' Warren said. 'It's no coincidence that working-class communities are getting stuck with sky-high prices.' With that, he has vowed that 'by year-end 2025, prices will be lowered at all Stop & Shop locations in the Commonwealth.' There are more than 60 locations across the state and around 365 across the Northeast, including New York and New Jersey. Last summer, the store announced that 32 'underperforming' locations will close by the end of the year. 10 stores in New Jersey, eight stores in Massachusetts, seven in New York, five in Connecticut and two in Rhode Island closed their doors. Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Stop & Shop boss reveals maddening reason prices are soaring at his supermarket chain
The president of Stop & Shop said the popular retailer's prices are at an all-time high at stores in Massachusetts because of a surge in retail theft. Roger Wheeler revealed the issue in a letter to members of the Massachusetts delegation after they inquired about the store's high prices in urban locations. Earlier this month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Ed Markey, and Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Jim McGovern penned a letter to Wheeler directly, asking him for 'answers as to why prices appear to be higher for groceries in low-income communities.' Wheeler, who became president of the Northeast grocery chain in 2024, debunked their claims, stating: 'Stop & Shop does not under any circumstances take a neighborhood's demographics into consideration when setting prices. 'The specific process for setting prices is highly confidential and competitively sensitive for any major retail business.' In regard to the soaring prices, the president called on 'legislators to act swiftly by advancing legislation' to help stop retail theft. 'Retail theft is a major concern for retailers like us, and we need legislators to act swiftly by advancing legislation … to help protect our customers and associates,' he said in the letter sent on Wednesday. 'Our business's ability to continue to invest in our stores, our customers, and our communities relies on Congressional action to stop organized retail crime.' Wheeler mentioned the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, a legislation that was reintroduced last month that would more to 'crack down on flash mob robberies and intricate retail theft schemes.' The proposed legislation, which was brought back into play by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, would establish a supply chain and organized retail crime coordination hub within the Department of Homeland Security, the Boston Herald reported. It would also include 'expertise from state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as retail industry representatives,' while simultaneously implementing 'new tools to assist in federal investigation and prosecution of organized retail crime, and help recapture lost goods and proceeds.' Wheeler clarified that Stop & Shop followed the 'common practice' in the industry where prices vary based on location. He specified that the size of the store, rent prices and how much it cost to transport goods to the location and 'shrink', including losses brought on by theft, all contribute to prices. According to the outlet, Boston youth volunteers with the Hyde Square Task Force uncovered that the Jamaica Plain Stop & Shop charged 18 percent more on 17 identical items than its Dedham location - a suburban area. There are more than 60 locations across the state and around 365 across the Northeast, including New York and New Jersey In response, the grocer lowered prices in Jamaica Plain, but higher prices are still being recorded at 'inner-city locations,' Warren said. 'It's no coincidence that working-class communities are getting stuck with sky-high prices.' With that, he has vowed that 'by year-end 2025, prices will be lowered at all Stop & Shop locations in the Commonwealth.' There are more than 60 locations across the state and around 365 across the Northeast, including New York and New Jersey. Last summer, the store announced that 32 'underperforming' locations will close by the end of the year. 10 stores in New Jersey, eight stores in Massachusetts, seven in New York, five in Connecticut and two in Rhode Island closed their doors.
