Meijer Supersizes Store Openings
May 14 was a banner day for Meijer, as it unveiled three new stores under its own banner. The Michigan-based retailer held grand openings for supercenters in Hillsdale, Mich., Alliance, Ohio, and North Canton, Ohio.
The latest locations span 159,000 square feet and are stocked with a wide assortment of goods, including more than 600 varieties of fresh produce, 150 USDA-certified organic items, expansive deli and meat offerings and everyday essentials. As with Meijer's other supercenters, these stores include a range of nonfood products in the baby, pet, apparel, beauty, floral and garden departments.
To mark the occasion, Executive Chairman Hank Meijer was on hand for the ribbon cutting in Hillsdale, along with store director Kelli Quintana and her team. "As we celebrate our 90th anniversary this year, providing value and convenience to our customers is still our top priority as a family-owned company," Mr. Meijer said. "Not only will we bring those benefits to shoppers in Hillsdale, but we will also invest in the community to ensure we are more than just another retailer, but also a community partner."
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In Ohio, President and CEO Rick Keyes attended the ribbon-cutting events with the respective store directors, Patrick Hughes in Alliance, and Sheila Dowgiert in North Canton. "We're thankful for the energy and enthusiasm from our team members, who have worked so hard to prepare these new stores for opening," Keyes declared. "We're honored to welcome customers through our doors in North Canton and Alliance, and we are excited to serve these wonderful communities."
Opening-day festivities included some charitable action, too. Meijer donated $25,000 to local organizations in Hillsdale including a local middle school, vocational rehabilitation organization and nearby park facility. The retailer was likewise generous to both Ohio communities, pledging $50,000 in donations to groups that support housing assistance, mental health, cancer care and more.
Befitting their newness, the supercenters offer digital shopping solutions including the Shop & Scan feature that allows shoppers to scan barcodes via a mobile app and bag items as they shop. Customers can also order groceries for Meijer Home Delivery and Pickup service, and save money through the mPerks rewards program and through the Flashfood app that provides deep disocunts on surplus food.
The Alliance store is located at 2500 West State Street, and the North Canton store is at 1505 N. Main Street. Shoppers in Hillsdale, meanwhile, can visit the latest Meijer at 600 W. Carleton Road.
The stores opened a few days after the death of longtime president Earl Holton, who steered Meijer through a key growth period from 1980 to 1999 and who was a close friend of Frederik Meijer. Frederik Meijer started the business with his father, Hendrik, and is credited with inventing the supercenter format in the early 1960s.
Privately owned Meijer operates 500-plus supercenters, Meijer Grocery, neighborhood markets and Express locations throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company is No. 23 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century and one of its 10 Most Sustainable Grocers for 2024.
