Meijer
Meijer Inc. is a privately held, family-owned American retailer headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, specializing in supercenters that combine groceries, general merchandise, and additional services under one roof.[1][2]
Founded in 1934 by Dutch immigrant Hendrik Meijer as a single grocery store in Greenville, Michigan, during the Great Depression, the company expanded by innovating the supercenter model with its first "Thrifty Acres" location in 1962, which integrated food and non-food items for convenient one-stop shopping—a format that predated similar concepts by larger national chains.[1][3][2]
Today, Meijer operates more than 500 stores, including supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets, and express locations, primarily across six Midwestern states: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin, employing approximately 70,000 people and emphasizing community involvement, quality products, and low prices.[1][2][4]
Under family leadership, including descendants of the founder, Meijer has maintained independence from public markets while adapting to retail evolution through private-label brands, digital integration, and sustainability initiatives, though it has faced typical industry pressures like competition from discounters and e-commerce giants.[1][4]
History
Founding and Early Expansion (1934–1960)
Hendrik Meijer, a Dutch immigrant and former barber, founded the company in Greenville, Michigan, in 1934 by opening Meijer's North Side Grocery during the Great Depression.[5] [1] With an initial investment of $328.76 purchased on credit, Meijer stocked basic groceries and emphasized low prices and quality to attract customers amid economic hardship; his 14-year-old son, Fred Meijer, assisted in operations.[5] The store quickly gained traction through personal service and community ties, reflecting Hendrik's prior experience chatting with locals in his barbershop about their needs.[6] In response to competitive pressures, such as the 1937 announcement by the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) to enter Greenville, Meijer expanded the original store by demolishing an adjacent wall and incorporating space from neighboring property he owned, thereby increasing its size and capacity.[7] This adaptation helped sustain growth in the late 1930s and early 1940s, as the business shifted toward self-service elements and broader inventory while remaining a single-location operation initially focused on western Michigan.[6] The post-World War II period marked accelerated expansion, with Hendrik's sons Fred and Hank joining the business; in 1945, a fire destroyed the Cedar Springs store, but it was promptly rebuilt larger to incorporate more efficient layouts.[6] By the 1950s, the family constructed four additional stores and established a chain of supermarkets primarily in western Michigan, emphasizing fresh produce and customer convenience to differentiate from rivals.[6] This era saw the company evolve from a single Depression-era grocer to a regional player with roughly a dozen locations by 1960, setting the stage for further innovation while maintaining family control and fiscal conservatism.[6]Pioneering the Supercenter (1962–1980s)
In June 1962, Hendrik Meijer and his son Fred opened the company's first Thrifty Acres store in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the corner of 28th Street and Kalamazoo Avenue.[8] This approximately 180,000-square-foot facility pioneered the American supercenter by integrating a supermarket with a discount department store, enabling one-stop shopping for groceries, apparel, hardware, pharmaceuticals, and general merchandise.[8][9] The format drew inspiration from European hypermarkets, emphasizing efficiency and variety to attract families seeking convenience over fragmented retail visits.[6] The Thrifty Acres concept quickly proved viable, prompting rapid replication. By 1964, Meijer operated three such stores, with two more under development, building on its pre-1962 base of 14 supermarkets in the Grand Rapids area.[6] Expansion accelerated through the late 1960s, focusing on western and central Michigan, where the supercenters' scale—often exceeding traditional outlets—drove higher sales volumes per location.[6] Into the 1970s, the chain surpassed 20 stores, incorporating features like on-site gas pumps at select sites to enhance customer draw.[6] By the early 1970s, Meijer extended supercenters into Southeast Michigan and initiated out-of-state growth into Ohio, adapting the model to regional preferences while maintaining its core emphasis on breadth of assortment.[6] The 1980s saw further refinements, including expanded in-store delis, bakeries, and fresh seafood/meat sections to compete with specialty retailers, alongside heightened advertising.[6] This period culminated in strong market penetration, such as capturing over 20% share in Columbus, Ohio, with a single 1987 opening, and reaching 53 supercenters by 1988, primarily in Michigan and Ohio.[10]Growth and Adaptation (1990s–Present)
In the 1990s, Meijer accelerated its expansion beyond Michigan, opening three new stores in the state in 1990 and seven more in 1991, including initial entries into the Dayton and Toledo markets in Ohio.[6] This marked the beginning of multi-state growth, with the first Indiana location opening on Grape Road in Mishawaka in 1994 and the inaugural Illinois store in Champaign in 1995.[3] By the late 1990s, many stores adopted 24-hour operations, 364 days a year, enhancing accessibility amid rising competition from national chains like Walmart.[3] The 2000s saw continued store additions and prototype updates, shifting from the Presidential model to the Village Square design in 2000, which incorporated faux storefronts for a more inviting entrance aesthetic.[11] Meijer entered Kentucky around this period, further solidifying its Midwest footprint, while remodeling efforts focused on improving layouts and merchandise presentation to counter aggressive discounting by rivals. By 2009, the chain operated 189 stores across five states.[12] From the 2010s onward, adaptations emphasized digital integration and format diversification. The mPerks loyalty program launched in 2010, enabling digital coupons and personalized rewards, which by 2015 had amassed nearly 4 million members clipping over 1 billion coupons.[13] In 2015, Meijer expanded into Wisconsin, its sixth state.[14] Innovations like the 2018 Shop & Scan app allowed in-store scanning via mobile devices tied to mPerks accounts, streamlining checkout. Recent years brought smaller-format Meijer Grocery stores, with the first openings in Lake Orion and Macomb Township, Michigan, offering a streamlined grocery experience without full supercenter scale.[15][3] Expansions continued, including Northeast Ohio supercenters in 2019 and three more in 2025, pushing Ohio's total to 58 stores, alongside plans for Pennsylvania entry.[16][17] Today, Meijer operates over 500 stores, reflecting sustained growth through targeted regional investments and technology-driven customer retention.[1]Ownership and Leadership
Family-Controlled Structure
Meijer Inc. operates as a privately held corporation, with ownership and control retained exclusively by the Meijer family since its founding by Hendrik Meijer in 1934.[18] [5] This structure eschews public stock offerings, enabling the family to prioritize long-term strategic decisions over short-term market pressures, as evidenced by the company's avoidance of external investors or dilutions of equity.[5] The family's unified control has facilitated consistent leadership transitions, beginning with Hendrik passing operational reins to his son Frederik (Fred) Meijer in the mid-20th century, under whom the business pioneered the supercenter model.[18] Upon Fred Meijer's death in 2011, control shifted to his sons, Hank and Doug Meijer, who assumed co-chairman roles, with Hank also serving as co-CEO until 2016.[12] This second-generation stewardship maintains family dominance through a board of directors where key family members hold decisive influence, allowing overrides of executive decisions when aligned with familial vision.[19] The third generation participates as board stewards, ensuring continuity without fragmenting ownership, which supports the company's estimated annual revenue exceeding $20 billion while keeping it free from public disclosure mandates.[19] [2] This family-centric governance contrasts with publicly traded peers, fostering resilience during economic shifts, such as expansions into new markets without investor-driven pivots.[20] The Meijer family's net worth, derived primarily from their stake in the retailer operating over 500 stores, reached approximately $16.5 billion collectively as of 2024, underscoring the financial insulation provided by private status.[21] Such control has preserved the original ethos of one-stop shopping innovation, unencumbered by quarterly earnings demands.[1]Key Figures and Succession
Fred Meijer, son of founder Hendrik Meijer, assumed leadership after his father's death in 1964 and served as chairman until 2011, expanding the company into a major regional retailer while emphasizing customer service and innovation in store formats.[1] His tenure solidified the family-owned structure, with the company remaining privately held and guided by core values of thrift and community focus inherited from Hendrik.[22] Hank Meijer and Doug Meijer, sons of Fred, joined the executive ranks in the 1980s and became co-CEOs in 1990, overseeing significant growth to over 200 stores across the Midwest.[23] Hank Meijer, born in 1952, focused on strategic oversight and philanthropy, while Doug handled operational aspects; both brothers maintained the company's aversion to public markets and debt financing.[24] A third brother, Mark Meijer, serves on the board but has been less involved in day-to-day leadership.[23] In a notable shift, the company transitioned to non-family executive leadership in 2017 when Rick Keyes, a long-time retail veteran, was appointed president and CEO, replacing Hank Meijer in that operational role.[25] Hank retained influence as executive chairman, alongside Doug as co-chair and non-family vice chairman Mark Murray, ensuring family control through the board while delegating operations to professional management.[22] This structure reflects a succession strategy prioritizing continuity of family governance amid generational handover, though no public details outline plans for the next family generation amid the company's private status.[1]Operations
Store Formats and Brands
Meijer primarily operates supercenters, which are large hypermarket-style stores typically ranging from 150,000 to 250,000 square feet, combining extensive grocery selections with departments for apparel, household goods, electronics, pharmacy services, and general merchandise to enable one-stop shopping.[26] These formats, numbering in the hundreds across Midwest states, emphasize fresh produce, deli counters, and meat departments alongside non-food categories.[1] In addition to supercenters, Meijer runs smaller grocery-focused stores, often around 90,000 square feet, prioritizing fresh foods, local products, and core grocery staples without the full range of general merchandise found in supercenters.[27] These formats target convenience for urban or suburban shoppers seeking a streamlined experience closer to home.[28] Neighborhood markets represent Meijer's small-format concept, approximately 50,000 square feet, designed for community-oriented shopping with features like floral shops, health and beauty aisles, pet supplies, cafes, and emphasis on the freshest produce; the first opened in 2018, with expansions continuing into areas like Metro Detroit and Cleveland.[29][30][31] Express locations consist of convenience stores attached to or near gas stations, providing Top Tier gasoline, diesel, snacks, beverages, and prepared foods for quick-service needs.[32][33] Meijer maintains over 18 private-label brands across categories like groceries, apparel, and household items, including Frederik's by Meijer for premium goods, True Goodness for organic options, Fresh for produce-related products, and others such as Massini, Edgar + Ash, Ophelia Roe, and Falls Creek for apparel and home essentials.[1][34] These brands support cost-competitive alternatives to national labels, with recent promotions discounting select items up to 60%.[35]Geographic Footprint and Recent Developments
Meijer operates primarily in the Midwestern United States, with supercenters and smaller-format stores concentrated in six states: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.[36] As of October 2025, the retailer maintains 274 locations across these states, with approximately 46% (126 stores) in Michigan, reflecting its origins and headquarters in Grand Rapids.[36] The distribution underscores a regional focus, with Ohio hosting the second-largest footprint at 58 stores following recent additions.[37]| State | Approximate Number of Stores (2025) |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 126 |
| Ohio | 58 |
| Indiana | 43 |
| Illinois | 26 |
| Kentucky | 13 |
| Wisconsin | 8 |