Meijer
Type	Private
Founded	1934 (Greenville, MI)
Headquarters	Walker, Michigan
Key people	Hendrik Meijer, Founder Fred Meijer, Chairman Emeritus Hank Meijer, CEO, Co-Chair Doug Meijer, Co-Chair Mark Murray, President
Industry	Retail (Grocery & Discount)
Products	Groceries, clothing, footwear, gasoline, bedding, furniture, jewelry, health and beauty products, electronics, housewares and pet supplies
Revenue	est. The term privately held company refers to ownership of a business company in two different ways first referring to ownership by non-governmental organizations and second Greenville is a city in Montcalm County of the US state of Michigan. There is also Walker Township in Cheboygan County. Walker is a city in Kent County in the U Mark Murray is the name of the following people Mark Murray (rugby league (b For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" In Commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore which combines a Supermarket and a Department store. In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need In business revenue or revenues is Income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services $13. 2 billion USD (2005)
Employees	65,000
Website	www.meijer.com

Meijer (Dutch, IPA: /ˈmaɪ.ər/) is a regional American hypermarket chain based in Walker, Michigan. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In Commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore which combines a Supermarket and a Department store. There is also Walker Township in Cheboygan County. Walker is a city in Kent County in the U Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is credited with pioneering the modern supercenter concept in 1962. ^[1] About half of the company's 182 locations are located in Michigan, with additional locations in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The Commonwealth of Kentucky ( is a state located in the East Central United States of America. The chain was ranked No. 10 on Forbes' 2006 list of "America's Largest Private Companies". Forbes is an American Publishing and media company Its flagship publication Forbes magazine is published bi-weekly ^[2] Supermarket News ranked Meijer No. 12 in the 2007 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2006 fiscal year estimated sales of $13. 2 billion. ^[3] Based on 2005 revenue, Meijer is the twenty-fifth largest retailer in the United States. ^[4]

History

Meijer was founded as Meijer's Grocery in Greenville, Michigan by Hendrik Meijer, a Dutch immigrant. Greenville is a city in Montcalm County of the US state of Michigan. Meijer was a local barber who decided to enter the grocery business when hard times came during the Great Depression. His first employees included his son, Fred Meijer, then a 14-year-old grocery bagger, who would later become the chairman of the company. The current co-chairmen, brothers Hank and Doug Meijer, are Hendrik's grandsons. After studying trends in the grocery industry, Meijer was among the first to offer self-service shopping and shopping carts. He also worked hard to find and offer staple items, such as vinegar, at bargain prices.

The Greenville store did well, and additional Meijer groceries were opened in Ionia and Cedar Springs. Ionia is the largest city in and the County seat of Ionia County, Michigan, United States. Cedar Springs is a city in Kent County in the US state of Michigan, 20 minutes north of Grand Rapids, Known as "Red Flannel Town" By 1960, the company had over two dozen stores located throughout West Michigan. In 1962, the modern format of Meijer was started, with the opening of the first Meijer Thrifty Acres store at the corner of 28th Street and Kalamazoo in Grand Rapids, which is still in operation today. At a size of 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²),^[5] it combined grocery shopping and department store shopping in a single large store. Meijer trademarked the phrase "One Stop Shopping". The store was built with six-inch (152 mm) -thick floors, so that should the concept fail, the non-grocery half could be converted into an indoor car dealership. New stores were built in this same manner until the mid 1970s, when an architect mentioned the extra cost to management.

The Thrifty Acres stores, now under the leadership of Fred Meijer, became a tremendous success and were renamed to simply Meijer in 1986. Meijer's stand-alone grocery operations continued until the early 1990s, as the larger stores became dominant. In 1985 it was reported in Forbes magazine that Wal-mart at the time had failed in what were then known as hypermarkets because Sam Walton and company did not understand the grocery business. In Commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore which combines a Supermarket and a Department store. Samuel Moore Walton ( March 29 1918 &ndash April 5 1992) was an American businessman and entrepreneur born in Kingfisher Oklahoma Walton launched the first Hypermart USA store in 1987, opening only four stores, the last in 1990. Hypermart USA was a demonstrator project operated by Wal-Mart in the 1980s which attempted to combine groceries and general merchandise under one roof at a substantial discount It was said that Meijer understood the food business was important and not something just attached to a discount store. The quality of the produce is very important, and that poor quality produce sold by Wal-mart was their main problem. By contrast surveys said then and now that Meijer ranks high on produce quality. ^[6]

Meijer 1994 "Pineapple" Design Mishawaka, IN Photo showing Yellow "Pineapple" food court area and front facade of building. Mishawaka (ˌmɪʃəˈwɑːkə is a city on the St Joseph river and a Twin city of South Bend in St This is the 1994 prototype design that accompanied Meijer's first time entry into Indiana.

With the increasing dominance of Wal-Mart throughout the country during the 1990s and now into the Midwest, Meijer is facing the effects of an intensely competitive retail industry. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores In late 2003, the company laid off 350 people from the corporate offices, distribution centers and field offices; a few months later, in January 2004, Meijer laid off 1,896 employees and managerial staff,^[7] leading to speculation that the company was losing profitability and market share. A marketing professor, Dr. Ben Rudolph of Grand Valley State near Meijer's corporate headquarters, lambasted this move, saying they "apparently blinked" and that Meijer's "decision was driven by panic". Grand Valley State University ( GVSU) is an American liberal arts University located in Allendale Michigan. He also asked "Will Meijer actually be able to succeed positioned directly against Wal-Mart? Of course not". ^[8] Continuing cutbacks in 2006, the company outsourced eighty-one information technology positions to India. ^[9]

In 2003, the company announced that all new Meijer stores would feature an entirely new format and company image, complete with a new logo intended to make the Meijer stores seem "friendly" and inviting. The midwestern company hired New York City's Rockwell Group to redesign all the existing stores and establish a design for new stores. Rockwell Group is an award winning cross-disciplinary architecture and design practice The "new theatrics" for the then-seventy-one year-old company originally started as a "new product introduction program" until David Rockwell talked Hank and Fred Meijer into furthering Rockwell's services. Rockwell told the Meijers the new introduction program would "work only if it was part of a new overall creative foundation based on a fresher, younger approach, encompassing architecture, interior design, and graphic design". ^[10] Despite its recent cutbacks, Meijer has also been embarking on a new expansion plan that will increase its number of stores in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio.

Meijer's former logo, used until 2006-2007.

In July 2007, Meijer announced to local Michigan press it would be "restructuring" its Team Leader management positions in all 181 stores, stating layoffs would be "minimal" and necessary "to handle more sophisticated products such as flat-screen TVs and high-priced wines". Their spokesperson also said the changes were "not about a labor reduction", but fitting people in the right role. No corporate staff or hourly workers were directly affected. ^[11] In August 2007, the complete "minimal" number of cuts were made public, and they totaled approximately 500 (12% of existing) managers. The 500 were given severance packages, while even more managers were transferred to other stores or "reassigned to different positions". As opposed to this not being about a labor reduction as said a month before, the Meijer spokesperson stated the cuts were made as Meijer "tries to compete with the world's largest corporation, Wal-Mart". ^[12][13]

Operations

A Meijer in Midland, Michigan. Midland is a city in the US state of Michigan in Flint/Tri-Cities region of the state

A Meijer in Rolling Meadows, Illinois incorporating the company's new store format and logo. Rolling Meadows is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States.

A Meijer in Warren, Michigan. Warren is a city in Macomb County in the US state of Michigan.

Meijer stores are classified as supercenters or hypermarkets; such as groceries and department store goods are carried in the same store. In Commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore which combines a Supermarket and a Department store. Many stores also feature a Meijer-branded gas station and convenience store in front. A filling station, fueling station, gas station, service station, petrol station, or gasbar, Retail Outlet Several Meijer locations feature alternative fuels such as E85, biodiesel, and compressed natural gas. E85 is an Alcohol fuel mixture that typically contains a mixture of up to 85% denatured fuel ethanol and Gasoline or other hydrocarbon (HC by Biodiesel refers to a non-petroleum-based Diesel fuel consisting of short chain Alkyl ( Methyl or ethyl) Esters made by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG is a Fossil fuel substitute for Gasoline (petrol Diesel, or Propane Fuel.

Most Meijer stores are open 24 hours a day, 364 days a year, closing only at 7 p. m. on Christmas Eve, and reopening around 6 a. Christmas Eve, December 24, is the day before Christmas Day, the celebrated birthday of Jesus. m. on December 26. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. Closing on Christmas Day has been in effect since March 7, 1988. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar)

Other Meijer concepts

In addition to the original Meijer supermarkets and current hypermarkets, Meijer has tried many other retail concepts over the years. These concepts included:

• Spaar: In 1980, Meijer converted two former supermarket locations in Grand Rapids to a discount drugstore concept titled Spaar, from the Dutch word for "save". The Spaar stores were sold to Pontiac, Michigan-based Perry Drug Stores by the mid-1980s, as the decision had been made to focus entirely on Meijer's hypermarket concept. Pontiac is a city in the US state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac. Perry Drug Stores was an American retail Pharmacy chain founded in 1957 in the city of Pontiac Michigan, United States. ^[14]

• Meijer Square: Meijer Square was a traditional discount department store comparable to Kmart or Wal-Mart, lacking a full grocery section. Kmart (sometimes spelled as " K-Mart " is a chain of department stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores Starting in 1981, Meijer Square consisted of fourteen test locations in Michigan and Ohio, mostly converted from other discount retailers. ^[14] The Ohio locations were sold to Zayre and Hills in 1986, although the Michigan locations remained open into the early 1990s. Not to be confused with Zaire, the African country now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hills Department Store was a Canton Massachusetts -based discount Department store chain The Meijer name would not be found in Cincinnati again until 1996, after both Hills and Ames had closed all of its Ohio stores. ^[15]

• Copper Rivet, Sagebrush, Tansy: Meijer started three specialty clothing stores in the 1980s as means of selling popular brand-name clothing. Copper Rivet sold Levi's jeans; Sagebrush sold casual wear; and Tansy sold women's clothing. Levi Strauss & Co (LS&CO is a privately held Clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of Denim Jeans. All three chains usually operated in front of existing Meijer stores, although some locations were located in nearby shopping centers. All three chains were dissolved in the 1980s as brand-name clothing became more readily available at competing retailers. Sagebrush, which at its peak comprised seventy-one stores, was sold in 1988, while Copper Rivet and Tansy stores were closed as their leases expired. ^[14][16]

• SourceClub: SourceClub was a short-lived warehouse club concept attempted by Meijer in 1992. A warehouse club is a Retail store, usually selling a wide variety of Merchandise, in which customers pay annual membership fees in order to shop The concept proved unsuccessful and all SourceClub stores were closed in 1994; the location in Fraser, Michigan was converted to a regular Meijer store, while the rest were sold off. Fraser is a city in Macomb County of the US state of Michigan. ^[14] SourceClub failed due to increasing competition from similar warehouse clubs, such as Sam's Club and Costco. Sam's Club is an American chain of membership-only retail Warehouse clubs Founded in 1983 it is owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores Inc Costco Wholesale Corporation ( is the largest membership Warehouse club chain in the world based on sales volume headquartered in Issaquah Washington, ^[14] SourceClub also introduced the concept of offering membership to anyone (instead of people with certain restrictive requirements), a concept which was picked up by the competition and continued to this day.

• Meijer C-Stop: Meijer convenience stores and filling stations in areas where there is no attached store. Unlike past concepts, these are still in operation.

Working at Meijer

The average Meijer store employs about 300 people. Most Meijer stores are union operated. Even the stores that are union operated have many non-union positions. These jobs include management, greeters, undercover loss prevention detectives, and the systems team.

Meijer Employees working shifts shorter than 5 and 1/2 hours are given one paid 15 minute break. Those employees working shifts lengths of 5 and 1/2 hours to 6 and 1/2 hours are given one paid break (15 minutes) and an unpaid half hour lunch. Anyone working longer than 6 and 1/2 hours are given two 15 minute paid breaks and one unpaid half hour lunch break. Employees are often disciplined for being one minute late for break while managers take extended breaks, often an hour or more. Wage rates vary by market, and in those areas where applicable, also by union contract. There are a small number of hourly employees who are able to make more than their set top rate because of their employment longevity. Those who were hired prior to 1984 are still employed under a non-expiring contract. This contract has top wages higher than other employees and team members on the pre-1984 contract are currently making up to around $16. 50/hour. Wage tiers create an atmosphere of animosity and resentment. Most Meijer employees are part time making less than $10/hr.

Raises are given as team members hit certain work-hour and time quotas. For team members hired before 1984 a raise is received every 11 months for full-time workers and every 15 months for part-time. Team members hired between 1985 and 2003 employees receive a raise for 700 hours worked until they have reached the top compensation on their contract. Team members hired after the ratification of the current contract in 2003 receive a raise for every 1000 hours worked. Team members who have reached the top wages for either contract only receive a raise when the contract is renegotiated.

Non-union workers (Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky) also receive extra bonuses after 90 days of work. The most notable of these bonuses are known as 'issue-free hourly incentives'. These incentives are given every 4 weeks to employees whose store has surpassed the projected earnings quota. The amount received in this bonus is reflected by the percentage the store (or unit) has surpassed the quota, by its ranking in the consumer ratings system know as 'Meijer e-panel', and by the number of hours worked by the employee in that period. This means that the employee could make almost a full paycheck extra depending on the performance of the store.

Meijer is an unpopular place for minors to work, they pay minors under the age of 18 minimum wage and take out union dues, too. (At least in Michigan) The Union dues can range between $6-$12 a week taken out of the paycheck for minors that make minimum wage (6. 08 an hour in Michigan).

Human Rights Criticisms

In 2006, 2007, and again in 2008 Meijer scored a zero on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which the HRC calls "a measure of how U. S. companies and businesses are treating gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors. In the English language, gay is an Adjective that in modern usage refers to Homosexuality. A lesbian is a Woman who is romantically or sexually attracted only to other women Bisexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of both sexes or to a bisexual orientation Transgender (trænzˈdʒɛndɚ from ( Latin) derivatives " Specifically, the HRC claims that Meijer does not offer "even minimal benefits or workplace protection for gay employees" and lists it as a consistently gay-unfriendly company. Meijer was one of only three companies out of over 500 graded to receive this extremely low score. ^[17] Meijer's ranking stands in contrast to the high ratings of its bigger retail rivals, such as Federated Department Stores (100%), Sears/Kmart (100%), Target Corporation (80%), and Wal-Mart (40%). Macy's Inc ( formerly Federated Department Stores Inc, is a Department store Holding company and owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's Sears Holdings Corporation ( is the sixth largest retailer in the United States, behind Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Costco, Target Kmart (sometimes spelled as " K-Mart " is a chain of department stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U Target Corporation ( is an American Retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis Minnesota in 1902 Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores

Marketing and Sponsorship

Meijer's "Community Rewards" program allows customers to determine where Meijer's donations go. Customers sign up and choose up to three non-profit organizations. When a Rewards card is scanned at the checkout, those organizations receive credit for the purchase. The website says the amount donated to these organizations is at least 5% of net profits and are distributed based on the number of credits each organization receives.

As a philanthropist, Fred Meijer's most significant contribution has been the land and sculpture collection for the 125-acre (0. 51 km²) Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, a botanic garden and sculpture park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a Botanical garden and outdoor Sculpture park located in Grand Rapids Township Michigan in Kent

Meijer also donated land for a Grand Valley State University campus in Holland, Michigan approximately 30 minutes from downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Valley State University ( GVSU) is an American liberal arts University located in Allendale Michigan. Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U [4]. Meijer, Inc. also donated an undisclosed amount of money to GVSU in the mid 1980s for construction of new studios for GVSU's Public Television Station, WGVU--which to this day continues to broadcast from "The Meijer Public Broadcast Center. "

Other donations helped create Spectrum Health's Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center.

Meijer's donations to Hurricane Katrina disaster relief included food and bottled water, which arrived on the store's trucks at relief centers in Mississippi before government aid, as well as money given from both the company itself and its customers, who donated through the company's website. Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest in the history of the United States

In July and August 2004, Fred Meijer personally offered to donate $25 million and a former golf course near Grand Rapids' East Beltline in order to fund a relocation and expansion of the historic John Ball Zoo. (The zoo is nestled between residential neighborhoods and I-196 on Grand Rapids' northwest side. )^[18] The proposal was turned down by voters and Meijer retracted the offer.

Recently, the Meijer Foundation announced plans to donate $1 million to Michigan's White Pine Trail State Park, raising the total donations from $2. Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. The Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park is a long linear State park in the U 1 to $3. 1 million. The donation carried a stipulation that the state must name the trail the "Fred Meijer White Pine Trail". The state parks department initially turned down the donation, but the decision created a controversy over naming rights for private donations to public parks.

Grand Rapids' downtown Civic Theatre, now renamed the Meijer Majestic Theatre, had a $10 million renovation, thanks in large part to donations by Fred Meijer, as well as Civic Action, a Grand Rapids-based community improvement organization. The name Meijer Majestic Theatre reflects both the original name of the 103 year old theatre as well as Fred Meijer's philanthropy.

In 2006, Meijer donated money to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in order to create the paid position called the Frederik Meijer Chair of Dutch Language and Culture. Calvin College is a comprehensive Liberal arts College located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Previously there was a chair but it was unpaid. It is currently held by Dr. Henk Aay, and its purpose is to promote interest in the Netherlands and Michigan's Dutch cultural heritage. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands ^[19]

Meijer has been involved in sponsorship in the IRL series for several years. They currently are an associate sponsor on the #7 Andretti-Green Racing entry driven by Danica Patrick.

Meijer store design

Meijer, Knapp's Corner, Grand Rapids, MI.

Meijer stores are typically designed with the supermarket section to one side, and the general merchandise section to the other side. Customer divider barjpg|thumb|In supermarkets sellers periodically change prices for classes of goods in response to market conditions rather than negotiating the price of each good The chain's stores are almost always constructed from the ground up; very few Meijer stores have been converted from other retailers. ^[14]

Some stores built in the 1970s and 1980s included a balcony, containing service tenants such as a barber shop and nail salon. Balcony (from Italian balcone, scaffold cf High German balcho, beam balk probably cognate with Persian term بالكانه Until the mid-1990s, McDonald's restaurants were also located inside some stores, primarily in those with balconies; in addition, the first stores in the Detroit area featured a short-lived fast food concept called Thrifty's Kitchen. Starbucks coffee shops can currently be found within many Meijer stores. Starbucks Corporation ( is an international Coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle Washington.

"Hypermarket"

2008 Renovated Meijer Store at Store #50 Grand Rapids, MI Cascade store

Meijer is credited with being the first "hypermarket" store in the United States, combining a multitude of merchandise under one roof, though rarely acknowledged as such. The concept of a hypermarket has been credited to Europe; either Meijer did not use the term, or it did not exist, when they opened the first Thrifty Acres in 1962. ^[20] Most United States Hypermarkets are credited as starting at later dates. In Commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore which combines a Supermarket and a Department store. Meijer credits itself as a grocery chain, that added general merchandise to their grocery stores in 1962. The Meijers are very private people and would not talk to Forbes for a 1995 comparison to Hypermart USA and Kmart's American Fare failed hypermarket concepts. Forbes is an American Publishing and media company Its flagship publication Forbes magazine is published bi-weekly Hypermart USA was a demonstrator project operated by Wal-Mart in the 1980s which attempted to combine groceries and general merchandise under one roof at a substantial discount Kmart (sometimes spelled as " K-Mart " is a chain of department stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U ^[21]

Product incidents

On October 11, 2007, food manufacturer ConAgra asked stores to pull its Banquet and generic brand chicken and turkey pot pies due to 174 cases of salmonella poisoning in 32 states being linked to the consumption of ConAgra pot pies, with 33 people hospitalized. Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ConAgra Foods Inc ( is one of North America 's largest packaged foods companies Banquet Foods is a company that sells food products - primarily frozen Chicken - and still exists as the brand name on many prepared Salmonella is a Genus of rod-shaped Gram-negative enterobacteria that causes Typhoid fever, Paratyphoid fever ^[22] By October 12, a full recall was announced, affecting all varieties of frozen pot pies sold under the Meijer brand name, as well as Banquet, Albertson’s, Food Lion, Great Value (sold by Wal-Mart), Hill Country Fare, Kirkwood, Kroger, and Western Family. Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. Banquet Foods is a company that sells food products - primarily frozen Chicken - and still exists as the brand name on many prepared Food Lion LLC is an American Grocery store company headquartered in Salisbury North Carolina that operates approximately 1300 supermarkets in 11 Wal-Mart Stores Inc, like most large Retail and Grocery chains offers Store brands, commonly referred to as house brands or generic Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores The Kroger Co ( is an American Retail Supermarket chain and Parent company, founded by Bernard Henry Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati Western Family Foods was founded as the Pacific Mercantile Cooperative on March 3, 1934 by a group of retailer-owned grocery wholesalers The recalled pot pies included all varieties in 7-oz. single-serving packages bearing the number P-9 or “Est. 1059” printed on the side of the package. ^[23]

Acme Township Controversy

In February 2007, Meijer was involved in an effort to recall the elected officials of Acme Township in Grand Traverse County, due to the official's reluctance to allow a new store along M-72 within the rural township. Acme Township is a Civil township of Grand Traverse County in the U Grand Traverse County is a county in the US state of Michigan. M-72, is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan, running from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan across the northern Meijer retained Seyferth, Spaulding & Tennyson, a Grand Rapids public relations firm, which helped orchestrate the recall effort. As of January 2008, a criminal investigation was currently underway by the Michigan State Police^[24] into the legality of the scheme. The Michigan State Police (MSP is the State police agency for the State of Michigan.

Records indicate that PR firm retained by Meijer had arranged meeting with a small non-profit organization which favored the Meijer store, but had not yet formally taken a position on the recall. With the persuasion of the PR firm, the organization, known as the "Acme Taxpayers for Responsible Government," formed a recall committee and began to promote the recall election. Seyferth researched the plausibility of a recall, wrote justification for the recall and oversaw the agenda for the meeting with Acme Taxpayers. ^[25] The PR firm revised the organization’s website, logo, devised talking points, campaign literature and wrote ghost letters to Traverse City newspapers. The recall committee did not disclose any of the PR firm’s assistance, or its affiliation with Meijer.

References

External links

• Company website