In 1934, the United States was knee deep in a depression and a World War was on the horizon. Despite it all, Hendrick Meijer, a barber in Greenville, Michigan, opened a grocery store. Today, Meijer is a Midwest success story with more than 500 Meijer Supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets, express locations, and manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout six Midwestern states. Hendrick started the business with his wife and two sons and today, there are more than 70,000 employees. “We have built an incredible team here at Meijer that is accomplishing great things and enjoys working together, and they are the reason we’ve been able to evolve and grow over 90 years from a little grocery store to a new concept in retailing to an agile company with multiple formats,” said Executive Chairman Hank Meijer. “We continue to look at how we can better serve customers in multiple ways to ensure our first 90 years is just our first chapter”.
Over the years, Meijer innovations included shopping carts, self-check-out lanes, conveyor belts, automatic doors and today, home delivery, curbside pick-up and Shop & Scan. Employees are eligible for career advancement, college tuition, paid parental leave, health insurance and childcare. Supporting hunger relief organizations is a critical part of the company’s culture of philanthropy specifically through their “Simply Give” hunger relief program. Since 2008, Simply Give has generated more than $90 million in donations to food pantries thanks to Meijer customers and team members.
“Fred Meijer often said that customers don’t need us, we need them, so focus on earning our customers’ business every day has been central to how we’ve operated” said Rick Keyes, Meijer President, and CEO. “We are constantly evaluating how we can further elevate the experience our customers have when they shop with us, and innovation paired with great prices and excellent customer service will be how we continue to earn customers’ business”.
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