November 12, 2009: Meijer Wins the Battle of the Toy Books

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Frank Guglielmi (734) 844-2781

frank.guglielmi@meijer.com

MEIJER WINS THE BATTLE OF THE TOY BOOKS

Grand Rapids-Based Retailer Beats National Player Prices On Many Popular Toys

GRAND RAPIDS, MI (November 12, 2009) – It’s a sure fire sign of the holiday season as retailers begin mailing their holiday toy books to customers in early November each year. This holiday season, Meijer is setting the pace by offering lowering prices than national retailers on

the key toy items featured in this year’s retailer toy books.

“The annual toy books are the first salvo in what promises to be a very competitive season in retailing,” said Jeff Handler, senior vice president of marketing for Meijer. “We’re sending a strong message with our toy book that we will be competitive with any national retailer on toy prices this holiday season. In fact, our toy book shows us meeting or beating national players on 90% of identical toys.”

Retailers generally mail out their toy books in early November to kick off the first major toy sale of the season. Meijer’s toy book prices went into effect on November 1 and will stay in effect through this Saturday. Some examples of Meijer leading the pack in toy pricing with this year’s book include:

A full toy book price comparison can be found at: meijer.shoplocal.com/meijer

In a comparison of the top 95 toys among such leading retailers as Meijer, Walmart, Target and Toys „r Us, Meijer outdid its rivals in terms of low prices by a substantial margin. The 95-toy sample showed that Meijer’s cumulative prices were $68.19 less expensive than Walmart’s; $181.21 less than Target’s, and $187.32 less than Toys „r Us. The sale prices listed in Meijer’s toy book are in addition to Meijer’s recent announcement that it has dropped prices on more than 400 popular toys in its toy department, while offering a number of toys for less than $5.

According to industry estimates, more than 45% of toy sales occur between Thanksgiving and Christmas. While industry experts are predicting that the $23 billion annual toy market will be “flat” this holiday season, Meijer is gearing up for a busy holiday season in its toy department.

About Meijer

Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Michigan based retailer that operates 190 supercenters 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. Additional information on Meijer and the ability to shop for more can be found at www.meijer.com.

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