Retailer Focus: Meijer

Privately-owned. Family-operated. These words are the backbone of Meijer. What began as a small grocery store in 1934 during the Great Depression has evolved into a retailer with 70,000 team members in six states. Meijer is ranked as the 14th-largest private company in the United States by Forbes (2025) and has estimated annual revenues exceeding $21 billion. While the company has grown and changed, its history remains part of who it is. In fact, you can still find its iconic 1-cent mechanical pony rides, introduced in the 1960s, in many of its stores.

Even today, the company remains true to Fred Meijer’s original words: “Take care of your customers, team members, and community … and all of those will take care of you, just like a family.”

Based in Grand Rapids, MI, Meijer is known for its focus on customer service, fresh food, and community. For more than 90 years, it has influenced retail. The company pioneered the American supercenter and the “one-stop shopping” concept. Its stores are known for carrying fresh produce, meat, apparel, household essentials, pet products, toys, and electronics, in addition to having in-store pharmacies. Meijer has been a leader in in-store innovation and was among the first to adopt self-service shopping, shopping carts, and automated conveyor belts.

History

During the Great Depression, Hendrik Meijer saw a need in his community. Already the owner of a small barbershop, he realized his neighbors and customers could not find quality food at an affordable price. Hendrik purchased $328.76 worth of merchandise on credit and, together with his 14-year-old son, Fred, opened Meijer’s Grocery. 

Led by an innovative spirit, they later opened a store in Grand Rapids, MI, called “Thrifty Acres,” which was an early supercenter concept combining groceries with general merchandise. 

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 standalone grocery operations continued until the early 1990s, as the larger stores became dominant. Today, Meijer operates more than 500 stores, including more than 270 supercenters, as well as numerous smaller-scale supermarkets, grocery stores, and fuel stations.

During the mid-1990s, Meijer expanded into additional states: Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. Expansion continues today with the 2025 announcement that Meijer is moving into Pennsylvania.

Leadership

Since the company’s founding, Meijer has been family-operated. The Board of Directors still includes family member Hank Meijer as the Executive Chairman. He is a Co-Chair on the board, representing the family owners alongside his brothers, Doug and Mark. 

Rick Keyes is the company’s 11th President and first non-Meijer family member CEO. He began his career as a pharmacist at a Columbus-area Meijer and rose through the ranks due to his leadership skills. During his tenure, he has introduced new store formats, expanded digital shopping options, and increased the company’s focus on health and wellness products and services.

“As I reflect on what has made Meijer successful over the last 90 years, I think about the three generations of family leadership who made it a priority to create a unique company culture focused on treating customers and one another with dignity and respect. Our culture once again led us to be recognized as a Great Place to Work in 2024, for the sixth year in a row,” quoted Keyes in a recent impact report.

Other top executives include Mark Murray, Vice Chairman, Donald Sanderson, Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer, Vik Srinivasan, Chief Administrative Officer, and Christine Dekker, SVP, General Counsel.

Sustainability 

Meijer has focused on reducing its carbon footprint. In 2023, it exceeded its goal of reducing operational emissions by 50 percent by 2025 (compared to 2018). It has maintained this target and continues to invest in new initiatives, such as installing more than 2,300 solar panels on the rooftops of its supercenters. 

For the fourth consecutive year, Meijer earned the lowest corporate-wide refrigerant emissions rate among all EPA GreenChill Program partners nationwide. The company also received SmartWay’s 2024 Excellence Award, part of an EPA program recognizing companies for performance and operational efficiency.

Meijer diverts more than 10 million pounds of surplus food from landfills through its partnership with Feeding America. More than 16 million pounds of potential food waste is diverted through compost and animal feed programs, and an additional 3.7 million pounds is redirected through its partnership with Flashfood—an app that connects grocery stores with consumers to sell surplus or near-expiration food at discounted prices.

Community 

Meijer supports the communities it serves by donating a minimum of 6 percent of its net profit to local organizations each year. It also sponsors hundreds of community events.

To put it in real numbers, the company donated $3.1 million to local, community-based programs chosen by team members through the Meijer Team Gives program. Since its launch, more than $12 million has been directed to hundreds of Midwest nonprofits. Meijer has contributed $97 million to food pantry partners across the region and works with more than 170 schools across six states to provide weekend meals to more than 7,600 children facing food insecurity.

In the News

In 2026, the retailer launched more than 300 new products aligned with emerging nutrition trends. According to nutritionists and trendwatchers, increasing fiber intake is the top nutrition priority for 2026, overtaking protein.

“Both fiber and protein are great ways to support everything from gut health to mental health, and provide steady energy,” said Don Sanderson, Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer at Meijer. “It’s important to us at Meijer that we are offering our shoppers options that help them meet their health goals and are accessible on a budget, and that’s exactly what these products are designed to do.” 

In April 2026, the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give returned to West Michigan for its 12th year. The previous 11 tournaments have generated more than $13 million to feed families across the Midwest through the retailer’s Simply Give program.

“The Meijer LPGA Classic exemplifies our commitment to enriching lives and supporting families across the Midwest,” said Keyes. “Through this premier event and the Meijer Simply Give hunger relief program, we’re able to make a meaningful impact to those facing food insecurity, while bringing people together for this wonderful community-filled weekend.”

Just in the spring of 2026, store openings included a new 47,000-square-foot grocery-format store in Rochester Hills, MI. A supercenter in Brownsburg, IN, which increased the retailer’s store count to 44 in the state. And a new Bainbridge Township supercenter in Aurora, OH, which increased the retailer’s store count to 59 in the state.

No matter how much Meijer grows, its foundation remains rooted in family, history, and a genuine commitment to the communities it serves. As Fred Meijer said, “I want to leave the world in a little better shape than when I entered it.” That is a principle that still guides the company’s values and path forward.