Meijer Expands Food and Drug Initiatives in Smaller Format

In its 75th anniversary year, Meijer is going back to its roots, developing a grocery-oriented format it will test in Niles, Ill.

While half the size of a typical Meijer supercenter, the new format won't be tiny, coming in at 102,000 square feet. It is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2010 and will be grocery and pharmacy focused, according to the company, while still offering significant assortments of select general merchandise offerings.

Meijer started out as a grocery store, but the new concept debuting in Niles has more to do with recent development at the operation including a major expansion in the Chicago area, which now is served by 11 of the company's supercenters, and a increasing emphasis on food and drug operations that provides more elaborate perishable and prepared food departments, lifestyle-oriented displays featuring cross merchandised elements such as convenience food and wine, and free antibiotics and pre-natal vitamins at its pharmacies.

Meijer has been testing, developing and redeveloping new prototypes almost continually over the past decade, and, as regards edibles, they have tended toward gourmet food particularly in upscale suburban settings. In the Niles store, the company will focus the food merchandising experience it has honed and apply it to ethnic edibles, featuring many grocery items geared toward the diverse community that surrounds it.

"For several years, we have worked hard throughout the Midwest to offer specific grocery items that are relevant to the unique customer base in the communities we service," Mark Murray, Meijer's president, stated in announcing the new format. "The Niles community is represented by a variety of cultures, and we are thrilled to be able to serve them."

The new Niles store announcement is only one part of Meijer's anniversary celebration. On June 27, for example, the company ran what it called a "block party" promotion at all of its 189 supercenters that offered kids activities, commemorative giveaways, entertainment, contests and free food. Currently, and through July 4th, the company is running a 75th Anniversary Bonus program that awards shoppers who spend $75 or more on general merchandise or apparel items coupons worth five percent off their next grocery purchase. Up to four coupons can be combined and used for a future grocery purchase.