Who Owns Meijer?

Dutch immigrant Hendrik Meijer opened the first Meijer's Grocery in Greenville, Michigan, in 1934, during the Depression, when the barber bought a grocery store's stock for $328.76 to serve his community. He ran it with his 14-year-old son Fred, who would build the company into a retail giant.

Fred Meijer became the architect of the company's most important innovation. In 1962, Meijer opened "Thrifty Acres" in Grand Rapids, combining a full grocery store with general merchandise under one roof at discount prices, creating the supercenter format years before Walmart adopted it. The innovation made Meijer a retail pioneer whose model reshaped American shopping.

Expansion through the following decades spread the supercenter format across Michigan and into neighboring Midwest states, with stores combining groceries, pharmacy, clothing, electronics, and general merchandise. The company remained tightly held by the family, with Fred Meijer becoming a beloved regional figure until his death in 2011.

Under third-generation family leadership, Meijer modernized its stores, expanded into smaller grocery formats, developed its digital and delivery business, and grew to more than 270 stores across six states. In 2023, Rick Keyes became the company's first non-family CEO, marking a governance evolution while the family retained ownership control.