Meijer celebrates 90 years

Meijer is celebrating its 90th year as a company this year.

During the Great Depression in 1934, Hendrik Meijer, a local barber in Greenville, Mich., opened Meijer’s Grocery with his wife Gezina and their two children, 18-year-old Johanna and 14-year-old Fred. Hendrik Meijer originally envisioned the store as an option for customers who visited his barbershop, the company said in a statement.

The privately-owned company now has some 500 Meijer supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets, express locations, and distribution and manufacturing facilities throughout six Midwest states, which are operated by 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,” Executive Chairman Hank Meijer said in a press release. “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 last 90 years, the retailer has introduced shopping carts, automatic doors, conveyor belts, supercenters, self-checkout lanes, mPerks, curbside pickup, home delivery, and Shop & Scan.

Meijer employees are eligible to receive a variety of benefits, including weekly pay, team member discounts, and flexible scheduling. The retailer also offers 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.

Meijer has also consistently donated at least 6% of its annual profit to nonprofit organizations throughout the Midwest. 

“My family never wanted Meijer to just be another business,” Hank Meijer said in a statement. “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.”