Saker ShopRites Completes Acquisition of Perlmart Stores

Saker ShopRites Inc., owned and operated by the Saker family, has completed its acquisition of the assets of fellow Wakefern Food Corp. retailer cooperative member Perlmart Inc., owned and operated by Michael Perlmutter. The deal was first revealed in October.

The Sakers, who have been in the grocery business since 1916 and operate 32 ShopRite stores across New Jersey, have acquired from Perlmart Inc. seven ShopRite stores in the state’s Ocean County.

“Perlmart has been dedicated to customer and community service since they first opened their doors, and we are proud to continue those traditions as we welcome their stores and associates into our family of supermarkets,” noted Richard Saker, resident and CEO of Holmdel, N.J.-based Saker ShopRites Inc. “Both the Saker and Perlmutter families share a love of the supermarket business, and we think this is a great way to pass the baton from one local family-owned business to another.” 

Both companies were early members of Wakefern, which this year turns 75. Richard Saker’s father, Joseph, joined the new retailer co-op in 1947, the year before Julius Perlmutter, Michael Perlmutter’s father, joined Wakefern and opened a store in downtown Toms River, N.J.

“We are proud to have been part of the Ocean County community for more than seven decades, and we are so grateful for the loyalty we’ve experienced from our customers and the dedication and friendship from our associates through the years,” said Michael Perlmutter. “As a family-operated business, we have viewed our associates as extended family members, and our relationship with some go back 35, 40 and more years.”

Perlmart’s ShopRite stores, which featured pharmacies, were located in Manahawkin, Lacey, Fischer Bay (Toms River), Manchester, Jackson, Bayville and Waretown. 

Before the acquisition, Saker ShopRites owned and operated 32 ShopRite supermarkets, which included 30 in-store pharmacies, two liquor stores, and Dearborn Market and Garden Center in New Jersey, and employed more than 8,000 associates.

The largest retailer-owned grocery cooperative in the United States. Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern Food Corp. comprises nearly 50 members that independently own and operate 363 supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage and Fairway Market banners in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The company is No. 23 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 listing of North America’s top food and consumables retailers in North America.