Meijer

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two Feeding America food banks and a Macomb County, Mich., resident were named winners of Meijer's "Get Gifted" online holiday contest.

The retailer said it donated $10,000 to Gleaners Community Food Bank and Forgotten Harvest last week and named Vickie Spokes its grand prize winner of $10,000 in Meijer gift cards.

In IFC’s hit comedy series “Portlandia,” there’s a sketch in which the two main characters order chicken in a restaurant. But they don’t just order: They ask which farm the chicken came from to make sure it’s sufficiently local and whether the chicken was raised according to their exacting standards. The waiter quickly responds with a portfolio featuring the chicken’s pre-mortem photograph, biography and name (“Collin”).


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer announced Friday some structural changes to its business, including the appointment of a chief operating officer, a newly created position.

Meijer said its EVP merchandising and marketing J.K. Symancyk will serve in the new role. Symancyk will report Meijer president Mark Murray.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer's stores in Michigan will "prominently" feature 49 products made in the state as part of a program to promote local businesses, the mass merchandise retailer said.

The chain is partnering with the Michigan State University Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources to launch the "Made in Michigan" initiative, whereby 33 stores will feature 49 such grocery items as marinara sauce, blueberry butter, gluten-free baking mixes and gourmet seasonings in specially designated areas of the store starting on Sunday.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Frederik Meijer, the founder of the supercenter retail chain of the same name, died Nov. 25. He was 91.

A Michigan native, Meijer first entered the grocery business as a bagger in his father's store. By 1962, Meijer opened its first “Thrifty Acres” supercenter in Grand Rapids, a food and general merchandise store that touted one-stop shopping for customers. The chain now operates 197 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. The company also celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer has launched a chainwide effort to position its pharmacy staff as diabetes specialists.

The announcement was made by Effie Steele, the chain's clinical services manager.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer announced that it is opening a new concept store in the Chicago suburb of Melrose Park that will provide a tailored grocery offering and a broad variety of general merchandise.

Called Meijer Marketplace, the new store will be 96,000 sq. ft., about half the size of Meijer's largest supercenters.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An e-cigarette brand announced that its disposable e-cigarettes now are available at H-E-B and Meijer stores.

The company said that this marks Blu Cigs' transition from online sales to retail by being sold in all of H-E-B's 329 stores across Texas and Mexico, as well as Meijer's 196 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. Each disposable e-cigarette equals about 20 to 30 traditional cigarettes, the company said.