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 Headquarters inWalker, Michigan | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (Grocery & Discount) Fuel stations |
| Founded | 1934; 92 years ago (1934) Greenville, Michigan, U.S. |
| Founder | Hendrik Meijer |
| Headquarters | Walker, Michigan, U.S. |
Number of locations | Stores: 268 (2023)[1] Fuel stations: 235 (2023) |
Area served | Michigan,Indiana,Illinois,Ohio,Kentucky, andWisconsin[2] |
Key people | Frederik Meijer, former chairman emeritus Hank Meijer, co-chair Mark Murray, co-chair Doug Meijer, co-chair Rick Keyes, President and CEO[3] |
| Products | Groceries, clothing, footwear, fuel, sporting clothing, bedding, furniture, jewelry, health and beauty products, toys, sporting equipment, electronics, housewares and pet supplies |
| Revenue |  US$21.95 billion (2023)[4] |
| Owner | Meijer Companies LTD. (Meijer family (100%)) |
Number of employees | 70,000 (Jan. 2020)[5] |
| Website | meijer |
Meijer Inc. (/ˈmaɪ.ər/,MY-ər) is an American regionalsupercenter chain that primarily operates in theMidwestern United States. Its corporate headquarters are inWalker, Michigan.[6][7] Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is credited with pioneering the modern supercenter concept in 1962.[citation needed] About half of the company's 259 stores are located inMichigan; the others are inIllinois,Indiana,Kentucky,Ohio, andWisconsin. The chain is ranked byForbes as the 14th-largest private company in the United States,[8] and is the country's 23rd-largestretailer by revenue as of 2025.[9]
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Meijer was founded asMeijer's inGreenville, Michigan, in 1934 byHendrik Meijer, a Dutch immigrant. Meijer was a local barber who entered the grocery business during theGreat Depression. His first employees included his 14-year-old son,Frederik Meijer, who later became chairman of the company. The current co-chairmen, brothers Hank and Doug Meijer, are Hendrik's grandsons. After studying trends in the grocery industry, Meijer was among the first stores to offer self-service shopping and shopping carts. He also offered staple items, such as vinegar, at bargain prices.[10]
The Greenville store was successful and additional Meijer groceries were opened inCedar Springs (1942) andIonia (1946). The firstGrand Rapids store opened on South Division Avenue in 1949.[11] By the 1960s, the company operated more than 24 stores throughout West Michigan.[citation needed]
In 1962, Meijer launched its modern format with a store at the corner of28th Street and Kalamazoo Avenue in Grand Rapids called "Thrifty Acres." At a size of 180,000 square feet (17,000 m2),[12] it combined grocery shopping and department store shopping in a single large store. The store was built with six-inch-thick (150 mm) floors, so should the concept fail, the nongrocery half could be converted into an indoor car dealership. New stores were built in the same manner until the mid-1970s, when an architect mentioned the extra cost to management.[10] This was followed by the firstMid-Michigan location inDelta Charter Township in 1966. Meijer expanded intoSoutheast Michigan in the early 1970s, beginning with a store inYpsilanti in 1972 followed by their firstMetro Detroit location inCanton in 1974. Meijer expanded intoNorthern Michigan with a location inTraverse City in 1977.[13]
Fred Meijer took over the company upon his father's death in 1964. Under his leadership, the Thrifty Acres stores became a success and were renamed Meijer in 1986. Meijer's stand-alone grocery operations continued until the early 1990s, as the larger stores became dominant.
In 1985,Forbes magazine reportedWalmart at the time had failed in what were then known ashypermarkets becauseSam Walton and company did not understand the grocery business.[citation needed] Walton launched the firstHypermart USA store in 1987, opening only four stores, the last in 1990. An article inForbes Magazine said Meijer understood the importance of the food business, and it was not something just tacked onto a discount store. The quality of the produce is very important; poor-quality produce sold by Walmart was the main reason for their lack of success. By contrast, surveys said then and now that Meijer ranks high on produce quality.[14]
During the mid-1990s, Meijer expanded to three additional states. The first location inIndiana opened inMishawaka in April 1994, followed by the firstIllinois store inChampaign in April 1995.[15][16] In 1996, Meijer entered theCincinnati market with the opening of five supercenters, including its first store inKentucky, inFlorence.[17] Additional Kentucky locations opened inLexington andLouisville in 1998.[18][19][20]
The first Meijer location inNorthwest Indiana opened inMichigan City in August 1997.[21] The location inMerrillville, Indiana, opened in August 1998, was Meijer's first in theChicago metropolitan area,[22] followed in August 1999 by a store inBolingbrook, the first in the Illinois suburbs of Chicago.[23] A year later in 2000, three additional Illinois Meijer locations opened inAurora,St. Charles, andSpringfield.[24][25]
With the increasing dominance of Walmart throughout the country during the 1990s and up to the present, Meijer is facing the effects of an intensely competitive retail industry. In late 2003 the company laid off 350 people from the corporate offices, distribution centers and field offices; a few months later, in January 2004, Meijer laid off 1,896 employees and managerial staff,[26] leading to speculation that the company was losing profitability and market share. A marketing professor, Dr. Ben Rudolph ofGrand Valley State University near Meijer's corporate headquarters, lambasted this move, saying they "apparently blinked" and that Meijer's "decision was driven by panic".[27] Continuing cutbacks in 2006, the company outsourced 81 information technology positions to India.[28]
In 2003, the company announced that all new Meijer stores would feature an entirely new format and company image, complete with a new logo intended to make the Meijer stores seem "friendly" and inviting. The company hiredDeVito/Verdi that April to produce advertisements,[29] and retainedRockwell Group to redesign the existing stores and establish a design for new stores. The "new theatrics" for the then-71-year-old company originally started as a "new product introduction program" until David Rockwell talked Hank and Fred Meijer into further changes. Rockwell told the Meijers the new introduction program would "work only if it was part of a new overall creative foundation based on a fresher, younger approach, encompassing architecture, interior design and graphic design".[30] In 2005, despite cutbacks, Meijer embarked on an expansion plan to increase its number of stores in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio.
In May 2007, the firstLEED-certified Meijer store opened, atFairlane Green inAllen Park, Michigan.[31][32][33]
In July 2007, Meijer announced to the Michigan press it would be "restructuring" its Team Leader management positions in all 181 stores, stating layoffs would be "minimal" and necessary "to handle more sophisticated products such as flat-screen TVs and high-priced wines". Their spokesperson also said the changes were "not about a labor reduction", but fitting people into the right roles. No corporate staff or hourly workers were directly affected.[34] In August 2007, the store announced they were cutting about 500 managers (12% of existing management staff). The 500 were given severance packages, while other managers were transferred to other stores or "reassigned to different positions".[35][36]
On November 25, 2011,Frederik Meijer died at the age of 91.
In May 2013, Meijer opened its 200th supercenter, inSwartz Creek, Michigan,[37] followed in July by the first location in the city ofDetroit, at theGateway Marketplace development near the formerMichigan State Fairgrounds.[38][39] A second Detroit location opened in June 2015, on the former site ofRedford High School in Northwest Detroit.[40]
In 2014, Meijer became the first retailer to accept bothApple Pay andCurrentC for purchases in its stores and gas stations, despite possible penalties fromMerchant Customer Exchange for accepting Apple Pay.[41][42]
In 2014, Meijer opened a supercenter inBowling Green, Kentucky, the chain's southernmost location to date.[43] Meijer opened its first locations inWisconsin in June 2015. To help promote itself in Wisconsin, Meijer purchased a distribution center inPleasant Prairie fromSuperValu in 2012, and placed an advertisement along the outfield wall ofMiller Park, home of theMilwaukee Brewers, in 2014 in anticipation of the company's expansion into Wisconsin.[44]
Meijer bought the largely vacantMemorial Mall inSheboygan, Wisconsin, in March 2015. Much of the existing structure was demolished, and replaced with a new store in April 2019.[45]
In 2017, Meijer expanded into theUpper Peninsula of Michigan and northern Wisconsin. The company opened locations inHoward, Wisconsin (nearGreen Bay),Escanaba, Michigan, andSault Ste. Marie, Michigan in May 2017.[46][47] Additional stores inGrand Chute, Wisconsin (in theFox Cities area) andMarquette, Michigan followed in May 2018.[48][49][50]
Meijer expanded into theCleveland–Akron market in 2019, with stores inStow,[51]Mentor,[52] andAvon.[53] Meijer also expanded into theYoungstown area with a store inBoardman, Ohio, in 2020[54] as well asAustintown in 2025.[55]
Meijer announced plans in 2022 to expand into theGreater St. Louis region, filing for approval to open a supercenter inGlen Carbon, Illinois.[56] In January 2025, Meijer purchased land inO'Fallon, Illinois for a second store in the area.[57] As of July 2025, construction has not started at either location.[58]
In June 2024, Meijer was reported to be scouting theWestern Pennsylvania region, includingPittsburgh, for a possible expansion, which would mark Meijer's entry into Pennsylvania.[59][60] In September 2025, Meijer announced plans to expand into the region.[61]
As of September 2025, Meijer operates 259hypermarkets, superstores that combine groceries and department goods. Roughly half of them are inMichigan, while others are inIllinois,Indiana,Kentucky,Ohio, andWisconsin. Most Meijer stores are open daily from 6 a.m. to midnight.[62] Previously, from 1988 until theCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020, most Meijer stores wereopen 24 hours a day, 364 days a year,[63] closed only onChristmas.[64]
Most locations also feature an adjacent Meijer Expressfuel station andconvenience store. Meijer Express fuel stations offerTop Tier-certified gasoline,[65] diesel fuel,[66] and alternative fuels such asE85.[67] Some Meijer stores also featureelectric vehicle charging stations.[68]
In addition to the original Meijer supermarkets and hypermarkets, Meijer opened several concept stores in the 1970s and 1980s. The first were specialty clothing store chains called Copper Rivet, Sagebrush and Casual Court. Each store focused on a different form of brand-name clothing: Copper Rivet soldLevi's jeans, Sagebrush sold casual wear, and Casual Court sold women's clothing. All three chains usually operated in front of existing Meijer stores, or in nearby shopping centers. Casual Court was renamed Tansy in 1982.[69] These clothing chains were dissolved in the 1980s as brand-name clothing became more readily available at competing retailers. Sagebrush, which at its peak comprised 71 stores,[70] was sold off in 1988, while Copper Rivet and Tansy stores were closed as their leases expired.[71]
In 1980, Meijer began a discountpharmacy chain called Spaar (from the Dutch word for "save"), which opened four stores in 1980 in former Meijer supermarket locations. The Spaar stores were sold toPontiac, Michigan-basedPerry Drug Stores by the mid-1980s.[71]
One year after launching the Spaar brand, in 1981, Meijer began opening Meijer Square stores, which were traditional discount department stores lacking a full grocery section. Fourteen locations ofBuffalo, New York-basedTwin Fair, predominantly in southwestern Ohio, were bought and converted to the Meijer Square name. Two Meijer Square stores were also opened in Michigan.[71][72] The Ohio locations were largely sold toZayre andHills. Meijer returned toCincinnati and soon Kentucky in May 1996, after both Hills and Ames had closed all of their Ohio stores.[73]
Meijer opened its firstwarehouse club store, SourceClub, in 1992. The concept proved unsuccessful in competition againstSam's Club andCostco, and all seven SourceClub stores were closed in 1994. The location inFraser, Michigan was converted to a regular Meijer store, while the rest were shuttered or sold off.[71]
In 2009, Meijer announced a new store format called Meijer Marketplace, with 90,000–100,000-square-foot (8,400–9,300 m2) stores focusing primarily on groceries.[74] The format was tested with four locations in theChicago suburbs, opening from 2010 to 2012,[75][76][77] with plans for possible expansion into other regions.[78] By 2017, three of the four stores had closed,[79] though the location inOrland Park, Illinois remains in operation as of 2025.[80]
Meijer operates six small-format "neighborhood" grocery stores, ranging in size from 35,000–50,000 square feet (3,300–4,600 m2). The first, Bridge Street Market inGrand Rapids, opened in 2018.[81] It was followed by Woodward Corner Market inRoyal Oak, Michigan (opened in 2020);[82] Capital City Market inLansing (2020);[83] Rivertown Market inDetroit (2021);[84] Fairfax Market inCleveland (2024);[85] and Independence Market inIndependence Township, Michigan (2025).[86]
Introduced in 2023, Meijer Grocery is a standardgrocery store, with stores ranging in size from 75,000–90,000 square feet (7,000–8,400 m2).[87] The first two locations, inLake Orion andMacomb Township, Michigan, opened in January 2023.[88] A third location opened inNoblesville, Indiana in July 2024,[89] and two additional Detroit-area locations are under development as of 2025.[90][91][92]
Meijer was an early investor inFresh Thyme Market, a regional grocery store chain in the Midwestern United States specializing in organic foods.[93] Media sources conflict about the relationship between the two companies, with one describing Fresh Thyme as a wholly owned subsidiary of Meijer,[94][95] and others reporting that Meijer only owned an equity stake.[96][97]
Fresh Thyme had 70 stores across 10 Midwestern states as of January 2024.[98]
In 2006, Meijer donated toCalvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to create the paid position called the Frederik Meijer Chair of Dutch Language and Culture. The previous chair was unpaid. Its purpose is to promote interest in the Netherlands and Michigan's Dutch cultural heritage.[99]
Meijer is the title sponsor of theMeijer LPGA Classic, an annual women's professional golf tournament held near Grand Rapids.[100]
Meijer is the official grocery sponsor of theDetroit Lions,Detroit Red Wings, andDetroit Tigers.[101] Since the2021–22 NHL season, Meijer's logo has been featured on the Red Wings' helmets;[102] and since the2023 MLB season, Meijer has advertised on the Tigers' jerseys.[103] Meijer also owns the naming rights to the Lions' training center.[101]
Meijer has sponsored theMilwaukee Brewers since 2014.[104] Meijer also sponsors theCleveland Browns andCleveland Guardians.[105][106]
Meijer is also a sponsor of theathletic teams of Michigan State University.[107]
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Meijer was the first retailer to launch the "supermarket" or "superstore" in the U.S., combining a multitude of merchandise under one roof, when they opened the first Thrifty Acres in 1962.[108]
Meijer stores are typically designed with thesupermarket section to one side and the general merchandise section to the other side. The chain's stores are almost always constructed from the ground up, with very few Meijer stores having been converted from other retailers. Exceptions include the:
Some stores built in the 1960s and 1970s, including a since-demolished location on Pierson Road inMount Morris Township, Michigan (which marked the chain's entry into theFlint market in 1972), included abalcony, containing service tenants such as a barber shop and nail salon.[citation needed] During the late 1990s,McDonald's restaurants also operated inside Meijer stores,[113] primarily in those with balconies, though some locations without balconies likeTaylor, Michigan;Muncie, Indiana;Wyoming, Michigan, and the location onAlexis Road inToledo, Ohio, also had McDonald's locations; in addition, the first stores in theDetroit area featured a short-lived fast food concept called Thrifty's Kitchen,[citation needed] which also operated a standalone location in front of the Meijer inWalker.[114] Most stores feature a sit-down café, while some also feature aStarbucks coffee shop or aSubway restaurant. Stores built between 1989 and 1993 featured a curved wall of windows that ran along the area between the entrances, examples include many early locations in Ohio and the Midland, Michigan store (many of these such stores have since been renovated into the current exterior design described below).[citation needed][original research?]
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Early in the 1990s, Meijer developed new integrated prototypes for their rollouts. One example was the "whimsical" design prototype introduced with the 1994 expansion into Indiana. Different shapes and roofing designs created the facade of the building. Most notable was the yellow pineapple constructed from yellow ceramic brick and glass blocks. The different shapes on the facade were to introduce Meijer to Indiana as a "store of discovery".[citation needed][original research?]
Also notable was the use of a large translucent wall above the grand concourse facing the registers. This allowed natural light to filter into the area above the registers without actual windows. Another feature of these stores was the introduction of grey concrete panels and silver framing on windows and doors. Slight variations of this prototype were also introduced with the 1995 expansion into Illinois and the 1996 reentry into Kentucky.[citation needed][original research?]
On August 5, 1997, the store inFort Gratiot Township, Michigan, debuted a new prototype that evolved out of the mid-1990s prototype. This was the Presidential prototype, in which the logo was moved to the center of the building. Later Meijer stores of this design introduced the Meijer Fresh logo with the then-current Meijer logo and a large cursive "Fresh" on the right of the Meijer name. Most of these signs have since been phased out in favor of the current logo, with the lower-case "meijer" (in red) with blue dots over the 'i' and 'j'. In the year 2000 the Presidential prototype was replaced with the Village Square prototype, which featured fake storefronts running across the front of the building and a barn-like section on which the Meijer logo was situated. That prototype, however, was soon replaced by the Signature Series prototype, which removed the fake storefronts, which itself was replaced in the mid-2000s with the current prototype, which features emphasis on the entrances, which feature towering glass walls with a tilted roof, resulting in an "eyebrow" appearance.[citation needed][original research?]
In 2003, Meijer was sued by the U.S.Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which alleged that the company engaged inreligious discrimination and violated an employee's civil rights. Debra Kerkstra, a member of theChristian Reformed Church who worked at a West Michigan store, was fired in 2001 for refusing to work on a Sunday, despite communicating to her manager that her religious practicesprevented her from doing so.[115] Meijer settled the case in July 2003 after paying $22,000 to Kerkstra and agreeing to implement procedures to prevent repeat occurrences, such as training supervisors to avoid religious discrimination.[115][116]
In February 2007, Meijer was involved in an effort to recall the elected officials ofAcme Township, Michigan, because of the officials' reluctance to allow a new store alongM-72 within the rural township east ofTraverse City. Meijer retained Seyferth, Spaulding and Tennyson, a Grand Rapids-basedpublic relations firm, to help orchestrate the recall effort.[117]
Records indicate the PR firm retained by Meijer had arranged a meeting with a small nonprofit organization which favored the Meijer store, but had not yet formally taken a position on the recall. With the persuasion of the PR firm, the organization, known as the "Acme Taxpayers for Responsible Government", formed a recall committee and began to promote the recall election. Seyferth researched the plausibility of a recall, wrote justification for the recall and oversaw the agenda for the meeting with Acme Taxpayers.[117] The PR firm revised the organization's website and logo, devised talking points and campaign literature, and wrote ghost letters to Traverse City newspapers. The recall committee did not disclose any of the PR firm's assistance, or its affiliation with Meijer. The company was fined $190,000 for its actions.[citation needed] The store eventually opened in November 2015, with thousands attending the long-awaited grand opening.[118][119]
Meijer scored 0% on theHuman Rights Campaign's 2008Corporate Equality Index, a measure of how U.S. companies treatgay,lesbian,bisexual andtransgender employees, consumers and investors. Meijer was one of only three companies out of over 500 graded to receive a score of 0.[120]
In 2009, Meijer's score began to increase after the company amended its nondiscrimination policy to include sexual orientation. Other retail and grocery rivals' scores areMacy's Inc. (100%),Sears Holdings Corporation (100%),Target Corporation (100%),Whole Foods Market (90%),Kroger (75%) andWalmart (40%).[citation needed] By 2016, Meijer had increased their score to 85%, having a similar score to its rivals.[121]
In 2020, Meijer's score increased to a 100% on the Corporate Equality Index, as one of 680 major U.S. businesses to earn a perfect score that year.[122] As of 2025, Meijer still maintains a score of 100% on the index.[123]
In March 2024, a Meijer manager inSeven Hills, Ohio waited to fire a special needs employee who allegedly ate product over a period of three months until the value exceeded $100 so they could have him arrested rather than disciplined. After the body cam footage of the arrest leaked in August 2025, Meijer corporate has claimed to have made unspecified changes to their processes since the incident.[124][125]
