FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:    Frank Guglielmi (734) 844-2781
frank.guglielmi@meijer.com

MEIJER REPLACES ITS FIRST SUPERCENTER WITH NEW GRAND RAPIDS STORE

Customers of 28^th Street Go From Oldest to Newest Supercenter

Grand Rapids, Mich. (August 3, 2010) – A sparkling new Meijer supercenter will open its doors here tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m., taking the place of the original Meijer Thrifty Acres, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Meijer team members and local officials.

“As Co-Chairmen, Doug and I speak for our entire family when we say how pleased we are to re-invest in the site where our father and grandfather pioneered the first supercenter,” said Hank Meijer, Co-Chairman and C.E.O. of the Grand Rapids-based company. “We have so many family memories tied to this location, and we are thrilled to bring our best new store offering to this community.”

The new Meijer is located at 1540 28^th Street S.E., just west of Kalamazoo Avenue. At 156,000 square feet, this new store has a slightly smaller footprint than the larger Meijer supercenters, while still providing the one-stop shopping experience Meijer customers have come to expect.

Featuring Meijer’s most current design standards, this store is organized to make the shopping experience much easier. To begin, the pharmacy is located at the front of the store with health and beauty care items, while greeting cards and floral have also been positioned toward the store front to provide the convenience of one-stop gift buying.

Kitchen supplies and small appliances are located near the grocery aisles, while the baby section is complete with food, diapers, strollers and clothing – making it convenient for moms on the go. Grocery aisles are wider and shelving units lower to provide more light and to create a welcoming atmosphere.  From a logistics perspective, the overall store layout allows product to move very quickly from the shipping area to the shelves, which provides a more effective and efficient flow of products.

Additionally, this new store was designed and built consistent with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of “green” buildings from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). 

Some of the “green” building standards for the new Grand Rapids 28^th Street Meijer include:

• A substantial percentage of construction and building demolition waste has been diverted from landfills and recycled into usable building supplies.
• This store will use 40% less water than that of a typical store through water conservation devices and fixtures.
• The Meijer construction team used specialized materials to create a reflective roof, which reduces heat build up.
• The construction process included a strict focus on limiting the release of volatile organic compounds from building materials by selecting “green products.”
• The store will use high-efficiency light fixtures and advanced heating and cooling systems to reduce energy consumption.

 The 28^th Street Meijer store is the sixth new Meijer store to open this year. 

About Meijer

Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates 196 stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. As the inventor of the “one-stop shopping” concept, Meijer stores have evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive electronics departments, garden centers and apparel offerings. Meijer customers can find additional information on Meijer and shop for more at www.meijer.com.

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