GRAND
RAPIDS, Mich., July 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Amidst the Great Depression in 1934,
Hendrik Meijer, a local barber in
Greenville, Mich., took a chance
and opened Meijer's Grocery with his wife Gezina and their
children, 18-year-old Johanna and 14-year-old Fred, to take care of
customers who visited Hendrik's barbershop.
Fast-forward to today and the family-owned retailer is
celebrating its 90th anniversary with more than 500
Meijer supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets, express
locations, and distribution and manufacturing facilities throughout
six Midwest states operated by more than 70,000 team members.
"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," Executive Chairman
Hank Meijer said. "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."
Focusing on the customer
From the beginning,
Meijer has been focused on making its customers' shopping
experience the best it can be. In addition to low prices and great
customer service, innovation has often been key to exceeding
customer expectations. Over the last 90 years, these innovations
have included introducing shopping carts, automatic doors, conveyor
belts, supercenters, self-checkout lanes, mPerks, curbside pickup,
home delivery, and Shop & Scan.
"Fred Meijer often said that
customers don't need us, we need them, so that focus on earning our
customers' business every day has been central to how we've
operated," said Rick Keyes, Meijer
President & 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."
Creating a culture of dignity and respect
"It
was important to Hendrik and Gezina
Meijer that those who worked and shopped with them felt they
were being treated with the dignity and respect all people
deserve," Keyes commented. "Ninety years later, that sentiment
remains a core part of our values and culture, informing how we
treat each other."
Meijer team members are eligible to receive a variety of
benefits, including weekly pay, team member discounts, and flexible
scheduling. The retailer also heavily invests in the success of its
team members, offering career advancement opportunities, free
college education, paid parental leave, child care discounts,
access to multiple health insurance options, and the option for
401(k) retirement contributions.
As a result of these efforts, Meijer was recently recognized as
a Great Place to Work® for the sixth consecutive year. The Great
Place to Work® certification recognizes employers for creating
outstanding employee experiences based on responses to The Trust
Index Survey ™, an organization-wide assessment of culture. This
survey measures employee feedback across organizational culture,
credibility, fairness, respect, camaraderie, and pride.
Being an active part of the community
Meijer has
consistently donated at least 6 percent of its annual profit to
nonprofit organizations throughout the Midwest. This continued
effort has positively impacted millions of the retailer's
neighbors.
Supporting hunger relief organizations is a critical part of the
company's community engagement – specifically, its Simply
Give hunger relief program. Since its inception in November 2008, the Simply Give program has
generated more than $90 million in
donations to food pantries thanks to the generosity of Meijer
customers and team members.
"My family never wanted Meijer to just be another business,"
Hank Meijer reinforced. "We've
always wanted to be a force for good by helping our communities
address their most pressing needs, and we will continue to do that
for the next 90 years."
About Meijer: Meijer is a privately owned,
family-operated retailer that serves customers at more than 500
supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets, and express
locations throughout the Midwest. As the pioneer of the one-stop
shopping concept, more than 70,000 Meijer team members work hard to
deliver a friendly, seamless in-store and online shopping
experience featuring an assortment of fresh foods, high-quality
apparel, household essentials, and health and wellness products and
services. Meijer is consistently recognized as a Great Place to
Work and annually donates at least 6 percent of its profit to
strengthen its communities. Additional information on the company
can be found by visiting newsroom.meijer.com.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/meijer-celebrates-90th-anniversary-as-a-family-owned-midwest-retailer-302187016.html
SOURCE Meijer