The honorable 1 percent get that way by providing something that the 99 percent value. Such is the case with one West Michigan man who made a positive impact not only on his small town, but on Michigan and the nation. There should be no begrudging this billionaire.
Last week, Fred Meijer died at the age of 91.
He was the long-time leader of Meijer, which owns 180 grocery/department stores in 5 states. A quick trip to Google will give you the basic details of his life, but here’s the nub: with his father, Meijer spawned a business model that we take for granted today. They launched the superstore that sells groceries, household goods, and even a few services, all at reasonable prices. “One stop shopping,” they called it.
Tributes to Meijer may emphasize his charitable giving or his boosterism of West Michigan, both of which are fine in and of themselves. But I’d like to focus on the way he benefited the rest of us simply by being a businessman.
In the 1970s, the company ran TV commercials with the tag line: “A million Michigan shoppers can’t be wrong.” That boast was self-serving and true: People frequented their stores because they thought they got something of value. I certainly have valued the company that Meijer and his family built. When I was a child, my mother would make a lengthy trip every two weeks or so to “Meijer Thrifty Acres” – as the superstore was known then – from our home out in the sticks. It offered a greater selection of groceries and other products than the small and dirty grocery store a few miles from home.
And while I was not the most diligent comparison shopper (I wasn’t the one writing the check), I did know that Meijer’s prices were a financial godsend to our family budget. Decades later, the store had another impact on my family: My grandmother supplemented her modest widow’s pension by working in one of the company’s stores when she was in her early 80s. But the biggest benefit to her was not financial. The work supplemented her social life, and kept her going physically.
Of course we’re not the only ones touched by the Meijer legacy. Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, drew inspiration from Meijer.
Where are today’s Frederik Meijers? As a teenager, Meijer went to school – and worked 40 hours a week in the family business. That would be illegal in today’s hyper-regulated world. But that young man went on to create an new business model that millions of Americans validate every day.
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